Team CMSN: Volume 2
by Miasushi
Summary: After Beacon tragically falls, Sapphire Lante and Crystal Minkh pair up with some others to dig into the roots of why Beacon fell and who was ultimately responsible, ending up with loads more knowledge then before. Meanwhile, still not fully believing he's dead, Mara searches tirelessly for her one and only love, Nathen.
1. Crystal Again

A chorus of birds chirped sweetly in the trees, the lush green grass and the tiny colorful flowers making the meadow even prettier than it did in winter. The side of the meadow dropped off, making it the top of a cliff that towered over a huge valley. The valley was filled with trees, some on hills that rolled through it like waves. Some patches of land had no trees, only grass, flowers, and bushes.

A river cut through the valley, separating some it in half and emptying into a small lake. Towering above the lake and the valley was an awesome mountain range, the mountains snow-capped and majestic. It really was a breathtaking view, and a rare one at that, for not many traveled this part of Patch. Most who traveled here would be taking pictures and bubbling over how amazing and beautiful it was.

But that wasn't the case for the traveler who was currently walking there.

"Quiet, birds!" Crystal said, irritated, "I'm trying to get a signal!"

Crystal walked through the grassy meadow, her eyes fixed on her scroll rather than the gorgeous view around her. Her hair was up, tied in its usual tight ponytail. Her hair had grown an extra two or three inches since the Fall of Beacon, her ponytail falling just past her shoulders, rather than her neck.

She wore a combat skirt now, unlike her previous outfit, and wore a tight belt around her waist, her shirt tucked neatly into it. She wore the same black gloves that cut at the joints, as well as pair of leather boots with heels.

"C'mon, Sapphy," she urged, holding her scroll up to her ear, "Pick up!"

"Welcome to Lightning Wireless," an automatic voice answered, "The number you have dialed is either out of call time or does not exist."

"Of course not!" Crystal shouted, throwing her scroll onto the ground. She sighed and picked it back up, looking at the screen. Sapphire's smiling picture with the name "Sapphy" under it was there, the red hang up button on.

Crystal touched Sapphire's picture and sighed.

"I miss you, Sapphy," she said, a tear rolling from her eye, "Where are you?"

A cool breeze blew by, rustling the leaves in the trees and blowing Crystal's hair back. The sunshine came down in soft rays, bursting through the clouds and making bright sunny patches in the grass.

"It was hard to get here," Crystal mumbled, looking around, "So please don't tell me that you _aren't _here."

Crystal, blown away after a building had collapsed and separated her and Sapphire, had managed to run away from Beacon and find a train, which she rode to Mistral and stayed in Firestrom, a small village there. Then she had gone off to find Sapphire, remembering her last words saying she was in Signal, a city in Patch.

Taking a boat, she had sailed to Patch and was now here.

"I'm tired of Grimm and rabbits," she said, putting her scroll into her satchel and continuing her walk, "I'm tired of bees and mountains. I'm tired of walking and seeing the same sunny sky all the time."

She moved a tree branch out of her way and stepped into a shady part of the forest, the view of the valley and mountains harder to see behind all the trees. A few birds flew away as Crystal entered, their wings hitting the branches and shaking them.

"That's right," Crystal muttered, "Get lost."

She walked on through the bushes, bored and tired.

"Oh, why must I fall into such a haze!" she sung out loud, her voice strong and somewhat pleasant echoing across the valley. She tilted her head sideways and listened to the echo.

"Walkin' for miles after all this craze!" she continued, waiting for the echo. It came, joined by sweet birdsong and the rustle of the leaves in the wind.

"Huh," Crystal said, surprised that she actually like her voice.

"This will be the day we've waited for!" she sung, "This will be the day we open up the dooo-oorrr!"

This time, the echo seemed a bit harsh on the higher note. Crystal snorted and shook her head.

Suddenly, a dark cloud covered over the sun, casting a shadow over everything. The forest became dark and quiet.

"Seriously?" Crystal called, "Why'd you have to do that, cloud!"

Her echo didn't respond this time, just birds singing and the distant sound of the river flowing. Crystal just sighed and continued walking.

Suddenly, there was a strange growing sound. It wasn't like the growl of a beast, but more like…

"What was that?" Crystal asked out loud, "Sounded like a groaning zombie mixed with a slithering snake."

She paused and thought a little while. The sound repeated.

"Or a sheep choking on a bomb..," she said, her finger to her chin in thought, "Yeah...that matches up better."

The sound continued, repeating and getting closer, joined by many more.

"Naw," she said, the noises filling her ears and the branches of the trees around her shaking and bouncing, "It's more like a haunted child with the croup."

Suddenly, a horrible shriek sounded and several black Grimm, monkey like in their appearance, leaped out of the trees at Crystal. Their eyes were golden, surrounded with red and a bony mask-like face with red markings.

"Eek!" Crystal cried, startled, "Shadowmonks!"

The monkey Grimm all jumped on her at once, some on her shoulders, some on her head, some climbing up her legs and others trying to bite her.

"Don't bite me, Munchkins!" she cried, pulling out her sword and swinging herself around in an effort to shake them off. One of them bit her left arm, just below her shoulder, sending an acidic, burning pain through her arm.

"Augh!" she cried, the pain startling her. Her aura flashed up, but the bite didn't really change much.

"Get off!" she shouted, blindly swinging her sword and slicing the small, frail monkeys here and there; some losing their heads, some losing their tails, some ending up in half, and some having a disk-sized portion of their sides and backs being sliced clean off. There were quite a few of them, their mouths purple on the inside and their teeth dripping with...whatever that purple stuff was. Her arm burned and her hand was getting tired from swinging her sword around like that from the hilt. Her eyes were tightly shut as the monkeys were jumping at her face and some were crawling up her.

"Of course you imps don't hit!" Crystal grunted, holding one hand in front of her face and using the other to spin it in front of her, chopping the monkeys that leaped mindlessly at her front. She looked around at her surroundings.

"The cliff!" she thought out loud, the burning feeling in her arm somehow making her head feel slightly fuzzy. She felt a little like she was drunk, even though she had never had that experience before. Even so, the wild idea surging through her head made more sense than ever to her as she began rushing out of the forest the way she had entered, bursting back into the beautiful meadow and racing towards the cliff's edge.

She was still spinning her sword wildly in front of her front like a shield, decapitating a monkey that had climbed up onto her neck and stretched its head out. She could see the deep valley below the cliff coming closer and closer as she ran, monkeys hanging off of every inch of her and trying to bite and choke her.

"Remember your landing strategy!" Crystal hollered, her voice somewhat blocked as a monkey's arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

Then, looking like a madwoman, she jumped off the cliff. Just like that.

Holding her sword and covered in Grimm monkeys, she fell freely from the top of the cliff, which was really quite tall. Some of the monkeys looked up and seemed to understand what was going to happen if they held on. They leaped off of Crystal, including the one partially choking her, and disappeared into the treetops.

The view of the valley below and around her would have been quite amazing if the person seeing it wasn't falling. The valley was like a bowl; the cliff being the rim and the sides, and the valley the inside. Some of the sides of the valley were covered thickly with grass, moss, and trees, some of the trees sideways, due to the cliffside they were growing on. Afterall, the place she was falling into was called Meadowbowl. And the name served it quite well.

But as Crystal fell, her head feeling dizzy as she spun around in the air and her arm burning, some monkeys still on, but slowly disappearing as they began to jump off as the ground got nearer and nearer. The wind was blowing so hard in Crystal's ears that she could hardly hear her own voice as she said talked rather than thought her plan. All of the monkeys had left now and the trees were only about two hundred feet away.

"Okay," Crystal said, her voice slightly slurred, "Just land like you did in Beacon."

She pulled out her sword, thankful that her left arm had been bit rather than her right, and held it out in a high arc above her head, searching for way to land.

"This is gonna hurt!" she shouted to herself, still holding her sword above her head and closing her eyes. Her stomach felt like it would fly out of her body if she fell any longer and her eyes would fly out, too. It was hard enough to hold her sword with all the momentum and wind building up.

The treetops grew closer and her fear, although fogged and somewhat controlled, suddenly erupted, making her feel suddenly frightened. She hadn't been very scared before, random Grimm encounters and cliff jumping something she was okay with, but now it was as if all the fear from every frightening situation from the past had just exploded inside of her, making her open her eyes wide, just as the first branch hit her.

It was like a sting rather than a blow, slicing her skin as it made contact with her face. This was followed by hundreds of others, which all snapped off of the trees they were growing from after Crystal fell through them. Leaves, branches, and sticks flew about in every place she fell through. Every branch was another bit of aura replenished. Hundreds of flashes of purple.

The she hit the ground. Slowed down a bit by the branches and leaves from her fall, she slammed onto the ground with loud boom, forming a huge cloud of dust and a wave of purple aura shooting out amidst the mess.

It took a while for Crystal to understand what had happened, as she opened her eyes and saw that she appeared to be in some sort of a crater, covered in dust, scratches, and cuts. Her left arm burned in such a strange way that it almost seemed to be numb. Burning numbness. Nice.

She sat up groggily, wondering if she had blacked out or just simply landed and sat up just now. The impact had hurt like crazy, knocking out her air and making her world turn black...That or she had just closed her eyes.

Looking around her, she saw that she was surrounded by trees. Trees and rocks and plants and flowers, some of which, were quite pretty and fragrant. The moon was high in the sky, its glowing shattered pieces spreading out and stars twinkling around it like glitter on tar. Crickets chirped all around her, a bunch of other random creatures joining in and making Crystal annoyed. She didn't like bugs.

She stood shakily up, using the crater's rim to support herself. The bite on her arm hurt way more than it had when she had been sitting down, and now her whole left arm had a strange burning sensation. Like when you put alcohol on a cut. She could hardly see around her, the night dark and her vision slightly blurry.

"Am I gonna die?" she asked in the silence. She didn't know is she was asking that to herself or to all the bugs she couldn't see. Whatever the case, she began to wonder why she even asked that.

"Why'd I say that?" she asked aloud again, looking around, confused. She shook her head, instantly regretting it as a wave of warm dizziness surrounded her head and made her sway on her feet. She nearly fell over until she regained her balance and squinted in the darkness.

A twig snapped in the distance.

"Who's there?!" Crystal exploded, jumping out of the crater and pulling out her sword. Her left arm kind of just flopped to her side.

"Great," Crystal said out loud, "Can't move it."

She stood there, holding her sword and standing in a fighting stance, looking around her. Then she forgot what she was doing.

"Hello?" she asked, standing up straight and looking around. Only the crickets and bugs answered her.

Crystal did a half shrug, her right shoulder the only one responding.

"I dunno," she said randomly, turning around and dropping her sword.

She stood there for quite a while. Just standing there as if she was waiting for something, which she wasn't. She looked down at her sword as it lay there in the dust, her eyes tracing the words carved into it. BLAH.

"Are you okay, miss?"

A smooth feminine voice shattered the silence of the night. Or was it night?

Crystal, not having even flinched from the suddenness of the stranger's voice, looked slowly up at the sky, which was now a light orange-gold, the clouds pink and purple like cotton candy.

"Good night?" Crystal asked slowly, her brain feeling like an obese person biking uphill. Her own thoughts made little sense to even her. Everything was just strange in her sense. Even the birdsong surrounding them seemed odd to her.

"Are you okay?" the woman repeated, stepping closer. Crystal shook her head, falling over as soon as she had, due to the overwhelming wave of dizziness that passed through her when she did that.

The woman gasped and rushed towards her, just barely catching her in her arms. Unfortunately, the woman had dropped her woven basket that contained berries, spilling them all over the grassy ground. A swarm of strange looking birds blurred past Crystal and the woman and crowded around the spilled berries, creating a gust of wind that blew their hair and the woman's brown wasn't a single one left once they flew away, making another gust of wind.

"Miss?" the woman asked, shaking Crystal and slapping her face, "Miss!"

Crystal was still conscious, but the slapps felt mellow to her face and the sound reverberated through her head. Around her eyes were light purple rings.

"Whut," she mumbled, opening her eyes again and staring up into the face of the woman. The woman's skin had a browner tone, making her bright green eyes _very _visible, even in the pale light of the morning. Her dark brown bangs spilled over her forehead and stopped just above her eyes. She looked quite young, actually.

"How old are you," Crystal asked, her voice flat and incurious. The woman raised a brow.

"Uh..," she began, unsure of what to say, "Why?"

Her voice wasn't too old, either. In fact, she sounded like she might even be about as old as Crystal.

"I dunno," Crystal said smile spreading on her face. The woman shook her head.

"I'm 22," she said, sighing with a smile as if wondering why she was even telling her. Crystal nodded.

"18," she said.

"I'm Olive," the woman said slowly.

"Crystal," Crystal answered back almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" Olive asked, a playful smile still on her lips. Crystal half shrugged.

"My arm is on fire," she said plainly, "And I fell from the sky." She pointed upwards and then frowned at her comment. Olive wrinkled her nose.

"Did you hit your head?" she asked. Crystal nodded her head vigorously, but then nearly passed out from doing so.

"Okay..," Olive said, wondering what to do now. She lowered Crystal onto the ground and stepped back. She looked around and suddenly noticed the bite on Crystal's left arm. Whatever had bitten her had torn the sleeve when it had bitten her. The wound was deep purple and the veins in her arm were also that color, visible through her pale skin.

"What bit you?" Olive asked, suddenly frightened. Crystal smirked and turned her head, spotting a chipmunk nearby.

"Crystal!"

She snapped back to attention, still hazy-minded.

"Whut..," she asked, her voice heavily slurred.

"What bit you?" Olive repeated sternly.

Crystal looked up and laughed.

"Monkey," she said, the name sounding funnier and funnier to her as it echoed in her head, "Snake monkey, or something."

Olive's eyes widened.

"I need you to come back with me," she said suddenly, her voice strict and focused, "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, duh," Crystal said with a giggled. She rolled over onto her belly and pushed herself up to her feet, Olive helping her.

"My arm feels really weird," she said as Olive put Crystal's right arm over her shoulder and began to walk slowly forward. Olive nodded.

"I'll help that," she said simply. Crystal grinned.

"Have you seen my boyfriend?" she asked, her voice reminding Olive of a very sick and drunk person.

"What?" Olive asked, mostly to herself, "No."

"Symooooon!" she wailed dramatically, throwing her head back and passing out for a moment right after. She jerked her head up as soon as she came to, hitting it across Olive's cheek.

"Woah..," Crystal said, looking at Olive's face, "Do I _know _you?!"

Olive rolled her eyes. She had seen people react like this to Simia Anguis bites before, some much worse. It always depended on how they acted and their personality. Perhaps Crystal was more of a crazy person.

"No, you don't," she said flatly. Crystal smiled and suddenly began to tremble.

"Are you okay?" Olive asked, concern beginning to rise again. Crystal laughed shakily.

"Aw yeah!" she hooted, "Shakin' like a salt-thing!"

Olive just kept walking forward, wishing that her town wasn't a mile away. Suddenly, Crystal lurched forward, taking a deep breath and jerking out of Olive's grip. A horrible gagging sound followed.

"Crystal?" Olive asked slowly. How long had she been bit for?

Crystal sat up slowly, a dark purple substance running down her face from her mouth. Crystal was quite pale and dark circles had formed around her eyes. Her hair was messy, sticking up here and there and had leaves and twigs sticking from it. She looked horrible.

"Whut?" she asked blearily, "Grass don't taste good."

Olive carefully helped Crystal up to her feet and slumped her on her shoulder, getting them in the position they were in earlier. Olive wrinkled her nose at the puddle of chunky deep purple liquid on the ground where Crystal had gagged.

It must have been a day since she was bitten.

"Think you can walk half a mile?" Olive asked. Crystal's head shot up as if she had just been awoken from a deep slumber.

"What!"she asked sloppily. She was a mess.

"Nothing," Olive said, shaking her head and continuing forward.

It was at that moment that Crystal suddenly stopped walking entirely and thuded next to Olive's feet, unconscious.


	2. Watercrest

The first thing Crystal saw when she opened her eyes was a beautifully woven tapestry. It hung right above her, pinned to the wooden ceiling.

"Where am I?" Crystal mumbled, looking around. She was in a room with glass windows on either side, maroon drapes hanging on all of them and golden sunlight shining through, casting shadows all around.

A long wooden desk was on the left side of the room, papers, a computer that was left on, an empty soda can, a basket with some flowers in it, and a chewed up wad of gum were all on the desk. Strangely enough, it wasn't crowded, due to the large surface area. On the other side of the room was a large clay vase with a large aloe vera in it, growing to about halfway up to the ceiling, a small table with a white tablecloth, and a small wooden truck.

The ceiling had may tapestries pinned to it, covering the whole ceiling like carpet.

The soft sounds of birds chirping and people talking outside was heard.

Crystal sat up, noticing the soft white bed she was laying in, and rubbed her head. It felt tired. Her left arm ached and she noticed that it had been wrapped neatly in clean white linen. It didn't burn anymore, nor did it feel numb. She could move it again!

"Yay," Crystal said flatly, "Now I can move my arm."

She stood up slowly, allowing the small dizzy feeling in her head to pas before hse walked to the door. She was wearing a simple white frock that reminded her of a nightgown. But its style and its texture was more like that of an actual dress.

Crystal opened the door, the brass knob looking old, and stepped outside of it.

Olive was there, sitting in a chair at a table and lovingly stroking a fuzzy ginger cat.

"Who's a sweet baby?" Olive said, rubbing the cat's white belly, "Who's my wittle baby?"

The cat purred its response.

Olive turned around and immediately noticed Crystal standing in the doorway.

"Crystal!" she exclaimed, surprised and startled, "You're awake!"

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Yes," she said glumly, "I'm awake and feeling tired."

Olive laughed.

"Yes," she said, "All Simia Anguis victims tend to be pretty tired while recovering from bites. And pretty opposite of themselves, too."

Crystal turned around and shook her head.

"Whatever," she said, bored.

"You hungry?" Olive asked, sitting up from the table, still holding her cat.

Crystal shook her head.

"No," she mumbled, walking back into the room.

Olive set her cat down, who walked slowly away, and approached Crystal's door.

"Are you _sure_," she asked. Crystal grunted in frustration as she flopped onto the bed.

"Yes," she answered, her voice muffled from the blankets.

Olive chuckled and shook her head.

"If you say so," she said, turning away. Her cat raced up to her as soon as Crystal's door shut. Olive smiled and walked over to the table, sitting down and putting her feet on top of it again. Her cat leaped onto her lap and curled up with a purr. Olive continue stroking it as she looked dreamily out the window. A stack of books was on the table, surrounded by several opened ones and papers with notes and sketches scribbled on them. Olive sighed.

"Come home soon, Derik," she said, staring at her boots. The silver buckles seemed a bit tarnished to her, their once shiny look now clouded and scratched. Her cat purred, demanding more attention. Olive began to rub her cat now, resulting in more purrs and vibration on her lap.

"Feed me!" Crystal moaned from the back room. Olive giggled and shook her head.

"I told her," she said to her cat as she stood up. The cat jumped from Olive's arms and landed soundlessly on the wooden floor, searching for another thing to do.

Olive grabbed some food from her small kitchen and walked to the door, kicking it open and then walking inside. Crystal was wrapped up like a bug on a spider's web and moaning.

"Here," Olive said, setting a tray with bread, cheese, berries, and milk on it. Crystal glanced at it and wolfed it down, spilling drops of milk on her white gown and getting crumbs on the bed. When she had finished, she wiped her face with her sleeve and flopped back on the bed.

"Don't you have something _ other _than village food?" Crystal asked, wrapping herself back up in the sheets, "I saw an empty soda can on the desk."

"Yeah," Olive said, putting her hands on her hips, "I do, but I'd rather not waste it on a stranger. I have a family, you know."

"Are you poor?" Crystal asked, still stirring around in the blankets and sheets.

"No," Olive answered, shaking her head, "I'm just giving you the stuff my kids don't want to eat tonight. We're having company."

"_I'm _your company," Crystal muttered, her face now hidden behind a pillow.

"Expected company," Olive said, rolling her eyes. She turned to leave the room.

"Please don't embarrass me when they come tonight," she added, closing the door behind her.

Crystal moaned some more and then fell asleep, wrapped heavily in sheets and blankets, and surrounded by pillows.

* * *

"So, honey," Olive said, setting a mug of steaming tea in front of a burly redhead, "How'd you sleep without me all those nights?"

The redhead stroked his beard and shook his head. After returning from his week at the blacksmith's shop, he was tired, but richer.

"Not well, 'Liv," he answered in a gruff voice. Olive smiled and walked over to him, rubbing his shoulders and clicking her teeth.

"Me either," she said with a giggle.

"Kids keep you up?" he asked, blowing on his tea. Olive looked up in thought, still rubbing his shoulders.

"Um..," she began slowly, "Not really. I did find someone with a acidic Grimm bite, though. She's in the back room."

The redhead took a sip.

"Oh," he said, looking up at his wife through his thick eyebrows, "You let her in, 'Liv?"

Olive nodded.

"Yes," she began, "And she's a real bum, right now. But she'll lighten up once she recovers."

The man nodded.

"How old," he muttered, biting into his buttery biscuit.

"Oh, she's 18," Olive answered, crossing to the kitchen and pulling out a pan of biscuits from the oven and setting them on top of it, "Only a year younger than me."

"Married?" her husband asked, lifting his cup to his lips.

"Not that I know of," Olive responded, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Huh," he said, looking at the table and then at his empty plate.

"Where's Hazel," he asked, looking around.

"Not up yet," Olive said, stirring a bowl of some sort of cream colored paste.

"Nathan up yet?" he asked.

"Yep," Olives answered, tapping her spoon on the edge of the bowl, "He's getting water from the well. He should be back any minute."

A door opened and Crystal walked slowly from it, rubbing her eyes and looking curiously around. Her eyes looked blearily around until she locked eyes with the redhead.

"Woah!" she said, jumping back with wide eyes, "Good gravy! Who are you?!"

She looked horrified at his long red beard that fell past his chin to his shirt's top.

"Derik," he answered.

"Are you sure you're not a viking?" Crystal asked, pointing at him and staring rudely at his beard, "'Cause vikings are _hideous_!"

Olive gasped. Derik raised a brow.

"You saying I'm hideous, girl?" he asked. Crystal looked around and then nodded.

"I guess so," she said with a shrug.

"Think what you want," Derik mumbled, drinking the last drops of his tea.

"More tea, 'Liv," he said, pushing his cup forward. Olive hurried to fill it with her silver kettle.

"Thanks, 'Liv," he said, blowing on it.

"Of course, dear," Olive said sweetly, returning to her task in the kitchen.

"Mama?" a tiny voice asked from the corner, "Who's the tall person?"

All eyes went to the corner. A small girl with curly brown hair and hazel eyes was standing there, hands on her hips and holding a tiny doll.

Her huge bright eyes met Crystal's and she shrunk back.

"Oh. My. GOSH!" Crystal squealed, rushing to the little girl, "You are soooo cute!"

She scooped her up and squeezed her, confusing the poor girl, who clutched tightly to her little doll.

"Mama!" she cried, "Help me!"

"Crystal, put her down," Olive commanded strictly. Crystal set her down, still murmuring little things about how cute the girl was.

"Hazel," Derik said, still sitting at the table, "Come sit down."

Hazel nodded, her hair bobbing along with her head, and sat down across from her father, setting her doll on the table next to her. Crystal giggled.

"She's so cute!" she said to Olive, who began spreading the paste onto the biscuits on the pan. Olive nodded.

"I know," she said, looking at the biscuits, "And she scares really easily."

"Is she your daughter?" Crystal asked, looking at her again, "'Cause she looks kinda like you."

Olive nodded.

"Hey, Mom," a boy said, opening the back door and coming in, lugging a bucket of water with him. He set it down by the counter and then nodded his head towards Derik.

"Daddy," he said. He looked to be about four years old, his stubby little legs walking quickly towards the kitchen. He walked over to the counter and grabbed a biscuit off of the pan, blowing on it and switching hands so that it wouldn't burn him.

"And that's my son," Olive said, still looking down at her work, "Nathan."

"Nathan!" Crystal exploded, "How's it spelled?"

"N-a-t-h-a-n," Olive spelled, dropping her spoon into the sink.

"Oh," Crystal said, frowning, "My teammate's name is Nathen, with an e."

"What team?" Olive asked, rinsing her now empty bowl and placing it on a towel.

"A team from Beacon Academy," Crystal answered with pride. Olive looked up at her.

"As in, the prestigious academy led by Professor Ozpin to train huntsmen and huntresses?" she asked. Crystal nodded.

"You bet," she said, looking at the tray of biscuits "Those look good."

Olive looked at Crystal with unbelief, then nodded.

"You know how to fight, girl?" Derik asked from the table, little Hazel playing with his large fingers. Crystal nodded.

"Yup!" she said, smiling sweetly. Then she gasped.

"My weapon!" she cried, looking frantically around, "Where's my sword?!"

Olive and Derik exchanged glances.

"Is it yours, girl?" Derik asked, his brow raised. Crystal nodded.

"Please tell me you have it!" she moaned, rubbing her wound, "I need it!"

"We have it, girl," Derik said, taking a biscuit from Nathan, who went up to get another.

Crystal's face lit up.

"Okay!" she said, "Where is it?"

"In our room," Olive answered, "I'll get it."

Crystal nodded, then snatched a biscuit from the pan as soon as Olive left.

"So _are _you a viking?" Crystal asked Derik, biting into the biscuit.

"No, girl," Derik said, eating his biscuit in one bite.

"Can ya fight?" she asked, swallowing her bite and taking another.

"Why, girl?" he asked. Crystal looked at him from the kitchen.

"I dunno," she said with a shrug, "Just wanted to know."

"Why are you here instead of your home, girl," he asked.

"Because," Crystal answered, "I'm looking for my teammate, Sapphire."

Derik nodded. Nathan and Hazel both sat in silence, munching biscuits and drinking milk.

Just then, Olive returned, holding Crystal's huge sword.

"Not as heavy as it looked," she said, handing it to Crystal, "But I'd need to get used to it."

"Yep," Crystal said, hugging her blade, "I missed ya, sweetie!"

The others in the room exchanged glances.

Crystal clicked a button on her hilt and the blade slid swiftly into it, disappearing from view.

"That's how you save space," Crystal said, sliding into the strap on her back.

"So why are you in Watercrest?" Olive asked taking the pan of biscuit and putting them on the table.

"That's where I am?" Crystal mused, looking out the window, "How close is Signal?"

"About forty miles from here," Olive said, "Are you headed there?"

Crystal nodded.

"Looking for my cousin."

"Teammate and cousin, girl?" Derik asked, "Or you been lyin' to me."

"Yep," Crystal said, emphasizing on the p, "Cousin and teammate."

He nodded and ate another biscuit.

"Your biscuits are good," Crystal said, finishing her's. Olive nodded.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, "I try my best."

"Well, good job," Crystal said, walking over to the table and taking another one.

"Why are ya in ma house?" Nathan asked, looking warily up at Crystal, "It's mine."

Crystal bent down to his level and shook her biscuit at him.

"Your mom is helping me heal from an injury," she said with mock seriousness, pointing to her bandaged arm. Nathan nodded slowly, then continue eating his breakfast. He had seemed to want to ask that for a while.

"Cute kids," Crystal said, standing up. Olive nodded.

"You thinking three's enough?" Crystal asked. Olive shook her head.

"No," she said with a laugh, " I'm hoping to have many more. I'm actually going to have another by winter."

"Okay," Crystal said with a shrug, "Congrats."

Derek swallowed another cup of tea and pushed his cup away.

"I'm goin' to work now, 'Liv," he said, standing up, "Nathan; Hazel."

His two children smiled with their chubby cheeks and waved at him.

"Bye, daddy!" they both said in unison.

"Goodbye, dear," Olive called over her shoulder.

Crystal waved at him as he left, chewing on the last biscuit.

"Nice hubby," she commented after he had left.

"What's hubby?" Hazel asked, her voice high for even a two year old.

"It's a husband," Crystal answered. Hazel didn't appear to understand, but simply nodded.

A baby began to shriek in a room behind them. Olive raced to a door next to Crystal's and ran in.

"What's the baby's name?" Crystal asked one of the two children sitting at the table. She still hadn't had any time to ask since she had been able to get out of bed.

"Bubby," Hazel answered, her mouth full.

"What?" Crystal asked, hoping for the name to be clearer after Hazel swallowed.

"Bubby," she repeated.

"Bubby?" Crystal asked, confused.

"No," Nathen corrected, lightly pushing her, "It's Buddy."

"Bubby!" Hazel shouted, shoving at Nathan with her little hands.

"No!" Nathan shrieked and the two of them began a sissy fight.

"Hey!" Olive shouted, coming back with a chubby baby in her arms, "Stop that!"

Nathan and Hazel stopped, glaring at each other as they resumed their meal.

"Who's that?" Crystal asked, knowing she'd know the baby's _real _name.

"The kids call him Buddy," Olive said as she bounced the child, "But his name is Marron."

Marron began to fuss and Olive took a half of a biscuit from the table, putting it in his mouth. The baby immediately began to eat it.

"He's one, right?" Crystal asked.

"Not quite," Olive answered, putting Marron in a chair and pushing him in.

"Then how come you're pregnant?" Crystal asked, confused. She hardly knew much about pregnancy, other than how you got fat and how you usually had a one year old, at the youngest.

"I usually get pregnant when the baby's almost one," Olive said, putting a bib around Marron's neck. Crystal shrugged.

"Good for you," she said, standing up straight, "How long until you let me take this bandage off? It's getting annoying and tight."

Olive carefully watched Marron eat his biscuit.

"You can right now, if you'd like," she said, her eyes fixed on her son. Crystal eagerly ripped off the bandage, glad to get it off her skin. Underneath was a pink bite mark. It was not open, nor was it all weird and purple. It was just somewhat pale around the area.

"Not bad looking, if you ask me," Crystal said, grinning at her arm.

"It has been a few days," Olive said from the table, "It doesn't take too long."

"Are you an herbalist or something?" Crystal asked, walking to the window and staring out at it, "And is there a train station here I could get to?"

"Yes and yes," Olive answered, giving Marron a bottle of cold milk.

"Where!" Crystal said excitedly, turning around.

"Just a few minutes from here," Olive answered, turning and looking at Crystal.

"Great!" she said, rushing for her room and slamming the door behind her.

"Your clothes are washed!" Olive called. Crystal bolted from her room and stopped next to her.

"Where?" she asked, seeming to be in a hurry all of a sudden.

"It's in the laundry, and I've sown the rip in the sleeve-" Olive began.

"Great! Gotta go! Bye!" Crystal blurted, running off in the direction of the laundry room.

She had been there three days, spending most of the time shut up in her room. She had gotten an occasional peep out of the door from either Hazel or Nathan, many times both, but either of them knew what Crystal's business was, and waited to ask until she made an appearance. Derik had just come home this morning, after having been gone for a week doing nothing but blacksmith work straight.

She snatched her clothes from the top of the washer and pulled them on, noticing the tiny, careful stitching on the sleeve that had been ripped. The fabric that Olive had used to patch it was a darker purple, but it looked fine.

When she was finally dressed, she walked back into the kitchen, eager to find her cousin.

"I'm leaving now," Crystal said simply, "Could I have some lien?"

Olive stared at her with a weird look.

"Um..," she began, "How much do you need?"

"I dunno," Crystal said with a shrug, "Maybe a hundred?"

"Um, no."

"Fuee," Crystal muttered, "Fifty?"

"Alright..," Olive said slowly, "But that's only because you saved Nathan from falling from a tree and killed a Grimm rabbit lurking in our garden."

Crystal grinned.

"Anytime," she said smoothly.

Olive walked over to the counter, opened the drawer, and pulled out fity lien.

"Here," she said, handing the money to Crystal, "Just don't be silly with it."

"Of course not!" Crystal said with a wave of her hand, taking the money, "I just need some for a train ticket and some food is all."

Olive nodded.

"Have a safe trip?" she said, unsure of how to say goodbye to this new stranger. Crystal nodded and then saluted her.

"Tell Derik I say he's buff," Crystal called as she walked away from the house.

"Alright?" Olive called back, confused. She shook her head and chuckled.

Crystal was certainly something else.


	3. A Step Towards Signal

Crystal walked through the narrow streets, people bumping into her at every corner. She walked with her eyes on her scroll, ignoring every person who grumbled about her or bid her quick apologies for running into her before continuing on their way.

Four signal bars on her scroll.

She dialed Sapphire's number for the millionth time and held it up to her ear, hoping to hear her cousin's voice on the other side.

"C'mon," she grunted, dodging out of a hefty man's way, "Pick up!"

"Welcome to Lightning Wireless," the same automatic voice responded, "The number you have dialed-"

"Oh my gosh!" Crystal howled, hanging up and nearly throwing her scroll to the ground, "Why'd they have to use that annoying voice for the answering machine?!"

Several people around her looked at her, some annoyed, some curious, and some on the brink of laughter. Crystal just shook her head and sighed, resuming her mission. She looked hard at her scroll. Was Signal really that far away? Or was her scroll glitching? Or maybe Sapphire didn't know where her scroll was or something.

"I need a map," Crystal mumbled, looking around. Watercrest was a pretty crowded town, and only about half of the people around her looked friendly enough to be walked up to and asked a question. Crystal skipped over to a woman guiding two small children to a cart of produce and pulling out a few small lien coins.

"Excuse me?" Crystal asked as sweetly as she could manage. The woman turned around, her two children clinging tightly onto their mother's hands.

"Yes?"

"If it doesn't intrude on what you're doing," Crystal began, a friendly tone bubbling on her words, "Could you maybe tell me where the train station is? If there is one here."

The woman smiled sweetly.

"It's just over by the butcher's shop," she said, pointing southwards, "Just keep going south until you get there. It's not huge, but it's definitely a train station."

"Oh," Crystal said, looking towards the south, "Thanks! I really appreciate it!"

The woman nodded and waved, one of her children letting of of her hand.

"You bet!"

Crystal turned and began walking south, wishing that everyone would just go to the north side of the city. It was just so crowded. Even seeing the signs to some of the shops was hard to spot in this crowd.

All around the town Crystal could see mountains. Huge, stoney and majestic, they loomed in the distance, some closer than others, snow capped and beautiful. Their pointed tops looked almost cartoonish against the bright blue sky. The air was warm, a cool breeze occasional blowing by. The sun was warm on her face, its light reflecting off of every shiny surface and getting in her eyes. It was clear to Crystal that it was getting in most of everyone else's eyes too, as they were squinting as they walked.

It wasn't too long before she saw the black rooftop with a wooden sign that read: TRAIN STATION.

"How very practical," Crystal murmured as she approached the station. It was a simple building on a raised porch-like platform. Two wooden pillars supported the wooden roof that stretched out from the small building, a rickety bench next to the door and a window on its other side. The large wooden sign covered half of the top, painted yellow highlights faded from age here and there. Silver and wooden train tracks lay in front of the station.

Crystal jogged over to it and leaped up onto the platform, straightening up and looking around. A metal ticket machine stood next to the bench. She walked over to it, scanning the options on its glowing blue surface.

Westbrook

Signal

Meadowbowl

Gaiman Port

Jenpachi

The list went on, the names going for three more long rows.

A train whistle sounded and a train screeched to a halt in front of the the station, steam pouring out of it and clouding the area as she read the names. People began walking out of it carrying bags and suitcases.

"Signal it is," she sighed, reaching out and pressing the option listed as Signal. The name glowed a lighter blue and the screen went to a different menu.

"Tickets are thirty five lien!?" Crystal exploded, agitation from her whole trip building up again.

"They are," a man with a blue striped uniform and a conductor's hat said, walking past, "And that's what you'll have to pay if you're gonna get on this train."

Crystal bit her lip and sucked in air through her teeth. Sure, she had the money, but she didn't want to pay that much just for a train ticket.

"Anyway I could get it for less?" Crystal snapped, the man taking out a brass pocket watch and checking the time. He shrugged, his mustache twitching.

"You could stay with me tonight," he answered casually. Crystal gasped.

"What do you mean by that?" Crystal asked angrily. The man looked up for a moment, his orange eyes staring at her lavender ones.

"I'm sure you know what that means, young lady," he answered simply. He looked back down at his pocket watch and then put it back in his coat pocket.

Crystal stood woodenly in her spot. She had kissed people before. She had gone to parties before. She had even let a man hold her by the waist before. But something like this was not something she could bear, nor could she bear someone saying it so casually.

"Train leaves in ten minutes!" he called, looking at Crystal. She gritted her teeth and pulled out her sword, stepping forwards a little.

"Woah!" the man said, surprised, "I'm no huntsmen, and there's no need for violence!"

Crystal spit to the side.

"Who are you to suggest such a horrible option to a poor, young, impressionable girl like myself?" she asked in a chilly tone, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"Come on," the man said, holding his hands up for peace, "It was just a joke. I wouldn't do something like that!"

"Get lost!" Crystal shrieked, rushing forward and whipping out her sword, smashing the man off of the deck. He flew away and disappeared into the bushes, a sickening thud following. Some of the people around her drew back, frightened, while some, holding weapons of their own, came closer.

"Ma'am?" a young man with an interesting looking sickle asked, stepping forward, "Why did you just hurt someone?"

Crystal looked down, a tear rolling down her cheek and a frightened look on her face.

"He tried to grab me!" she squeaked, the hand holding her sword trembling, "I couldn't let him take me away with him!"

The man raised a brow and exchanged glances with the others, who were possibly huntresses and huntsman themselves. This was a train station, after all.

"Okay..," he said slowly, stepping away and joining a group of boys in the corner of the station.

Crystal grinned behind her back and stepped up casually to the train, skipping through its open doors. The inside was exactly what Crystal had expected it to be; a long row leading to a door that lead to the next train car, cushioned benches on each side and a window next to each one. A few posters were pasted on the wall in front of each bench, two of which advertising Signal and Haven Academy. A few people were already sitting scattered in different rows.

Crystal walked over and sat down daintily on an empty bench, staring out the glass window. Small clouds of steam rolled past, slightly fogging the bottom of it.

The familiar smell of cushions and vehicle air wafted past and made Crystal look to the floor. She hated that smell. It always made her feel carsick and brought back old memories of that one roadtrip her family had gone on many years ago. The vomiting, the endless hours on the road, the late nights searching for cheap hotels, the same weird rock songs playing on the radio over and over...It had not been fun whatsoever. But it was now one of her golden memories, due to the fact that her father, Jasper, and been in it. She missed him so much now, even the bad memories of him were like ray of sunshine in the dead of night.

"Your ticket?" the conductor asked, his voice low and gruff.

Crystal looked up at him, a glare in her purple eyes.

"You expect me to pay for a ticket for your train after what you did?" she hissed, "Not a chance!"

"Actually, it's not my train-" he began.

"No!" Crystal interrupted, shoving her finger in his face, "You need to be more considerate about how poor teenagers like me think and feel!"

"This isn't a personal matter," the conductor said angrily, "You just need to show me your ticket, unless you don't have one."

"Oh, I have one," Crystal said, standing up slowly.

Glancing around, she made sure that nobody was watching. Then she punched the poor man in the face, kicking his feet out from under him and catching him in a choking position, her elbow hooked at his neck as she bent down, away from anyone else's view. He tried to release himself from her, but only wiggled around, panicked.

"Be a good boy now, will you?" Crystal said with a sickly sweet voice. The man nodded vigorously, gasping as she released him. He stood up slowly, hoping that no one saw, for his sake.

"Nothing happened," Crystal whispered to him. He nodded, rage fuming up inside of him.

The train's engine began to rumble as the train started to move. Another puffy cloud of steam erupted from the train as it hissed, the rods on either side of the wheels turning.

The conductor straightened up and dusted off his coat, panting to catch his breath. He turned around, wishing for once that he had trained in one of the academies his mother had suggested so long ago, and walked down the aisle. Crystal watched as he continue collecting tickets as if nothing were amiss. She grinned.  
"Good boy," she murmured, sitting back in her seat and smiling smugly.

The train began to go very fast now, the scenery outside her window blurring past. The whole train was somewhat quiet now, only quiet conversation between some of the passengers and the sounds of the train moving could be heard. The bags and luggage hanging off of the hooks and shelves provided shook and moved with the bumps of the train.

Crystal sighed and sat back further, closing her eyes and thinking about her plan. She was still somewhat tired from her trip and that Grimm bite.

She would find Sapphire in Signal and then what? Should her and Sapphire try to enroll in another school and graduate as official huntresses? Or should they not even bother and simply live on, saving people when necessary and going under the title of a huntress of a civilian with some fighting experience. Maybe they should be mysterious heroes or something who traveled around Remnant and did hero business.

"No..," Crystal mumbled, half asleep, "That sounds silly…"

The train hit a large bump, jostling the train and its passengers and jerking Crystal awake. She sat up straight and looked around, confused.

"Annoying train," she growled, settling back down on her bench. She nearly took up the whole seat, seeing that she was laying on it.

It didn't take more than five minutes until the young huntress fell into a deep, relaxed sleep.


	4. Traintop Battle 1

Crystal was jolted awake a second time, but not from another large bump on the track. Instead, it was a loud thump and the vibration of something coming from the ceiling.

Crystal sat bolt upright, looking alertly around, her sword already clutched in her hand. A few of the passengers were panicked, those close to each other holding onto each other. Others just looked nervously around. The loud thump repeated, directly above Crystal. The train shook again and the taps of something sharp on the train's metal top traveled from the back of the train to the car where Crystal was. It sounded like talons or claws or something.

Crystal jumped off her bench and stood in the middle of the car, waiting for another clue as to what was making the noise. It already seemed like it might be some sort of creature or Grimm, perhaps. Crystal stood there, the ceiling beginning to creek and bend a bit.

Then, a terrifying screech sounded from above and another huge slamming sound came. Only this time, a black claw broke through the surface, metal breaking off from the area around where it came from as it scrunched up and kicked around, shaking the whole car and making passengers fly from their seats and fall onto the floor.

"What the-" Crystal began, but the talon ripped itself out from the ceiling and struck another part of the ceiling, another talon breaking through.

"I need to get up there!" she shouted, running over to the talon and grabbing onto one of the claws, just as it was lifting back up. Fortunately, the hole it had made was wide enough for Crystal to fit through without scratching herself. She let go and jumped onto the top of the train's roof, just barely dodging a giant black beak from impaling her. She rolled out of its way and stood up, swinging her sword and slicing at a black thing blurred past her.

There, standing right in front of her, was a giant Nevermore. She had never fought a Nevermore this close up before, nor had she ever fought one. But that didn't dishearten her. She stepped forward, spitting to the side. Her spit was blown away by the wind of the train.

The Nevermore flapped its two wings at Crystal, a gust of wind following. She quickly flipped out of the way of one of its long black wings and landed in a duck to dodge its other one. She jumped up with her sword and sliced wildy at it, dealing several cuts and slices to its chest. A quick stab upwards cut upwards into its neck and a little into its chin. Crystal jumped onto its wing, leaped at the thing's head, landed on top of it, and, gathering a good lot of aura, sliced its head clean off. The head fell off and rolled away, falling off the traintop with help from the blowing wind.

The wind was actually rather nice, cool in the hot summer afternoon. It blew back Crystal's hair and fluffy skirt, giving her a picturesque look as she stood firmly on the traintop with her huge sword clutched in her hand. The sun glared in her eyes, making her squint.

Then a loud thump behind her made her turn around, though she really _felt _the thump rather than heard it. Three more Nevermores stood there, pecking and jumping on the train's roof.

"I can handle this!" Crystal shouted to herself, "That first one was easy!"

Repeating several movements that she had used on the fist Nevermore, she managed to slay all three, only to be joined by at least four more, which all decided to jump at her all at once.

The first one on her was met by Crystal's balde, stabbing up into its belly. The other three had nothing to stop them as the half-flew, half ran at her, mouths open and wings outstretched.

"No!" Crystal shouted as she fought off the first Nevermore, "Go away!"

She finished off the one that was occupying her and then turned around just in time to deal a series of blows to another Nevermore that was nearly on her.

This one was harder, for whatever reason, as it managed to hit her off a few times. Though it amplified her aura, it didn't give her another chance to hurt it. Crystal, after dodging several pecks and hits from the Nevermore, sliced at her enemy's face with a burst of aura. It chopped off the end of its beak, but otherwise, did nothing else but angered the Grimm.

"What?!" Crystal yelled in frustration. The Nevermore stooped down, swung its huge head at Crystal, and then caught her with its beak as she flew backwards into the air.

Crystal panicked, flailing around in the thing's beak and wonder how she would escape without falling down and getting run over by the swiftly moving train.

Just then, a green bullet exploded on the side of the Nevermore's head, right into its eye. Crystal looked down to the traintop and saw a girl, no, two girls and a boy on the traintop, fighting off the increasing number of Nevermore.

_More huntsmen and huntresses! _Crystal thought excitedly.

The Nevermore shook its head from the shot, shaking Crystal's body looser from its beak.

"Shoot again!" Crystal hollered to the girl dressed in bright green who had shot its head earlier. The girl nodded and aimed another shot at its head, aiming in the same place. She shot another green bullet, hitting it precisely where she had aimed. Another green explosion and the Nevermore let go of Crystal, shaking her away. She fell and plunged her sword into the train's roof beside the girl in green, flipping off its hilt and skidding to a halt.

"You okay?" the girl asked, still looking up to where the Nevermore was still shaking its head from the shot. Crystal nodded, pulling her sword from the floor.

"Thanks," she said, glancing around her. The girl in green nodded.

"Fern," she said with a quick smile.

"Crystal," Crystal answered back with a determined grin.

The Nevermore stopped shaking from Fern's shots and swung around, diving its head at the two of them. Crystal ran to its back while Fern jumped out of the way. Its head stabbed the roof and stuck there, the Nevermore trying to pull its head out. Crystal, who had run up its back and onto its neck, performed an awesome looking slice, swinging her sword around before doing it. The head also fell off with the wind.

"Gone With the Wind!" Crystal shouted smugly, landing next to Fern. The two of them looked around and saw that the number of Nevermore was greatly decreased, the three other people having done a good job of killing the other Grimm.

"Who are the others?" Crystal asked, squinting to see their faces better.

"The girl in orange is my teammate, Naranja," Fern explain as they watched her and the boy in black destroy a Nevermore with good teamwork, "The boy in black is my other teammate, Weston."

"What team are you?" Crystal asked, watching a Nevermore fly closer to them.

"Team FWN (Fawn)," Fern answered simply, turning around and preparing to attack the nearing Nevermore, "We're a three person team."

"How is that possible?" Crystal shouted, rushing towards the Nevermore and holding up her sword to its open mouth.  
"There was an odd number of students when my team was formed," Fern called, shooting a carefully aimed shot at the Nevermore's tail. It exploded into green and the Nevermore screeched in pain. Crystal's sword ended it as its open mouth landed on it. Her sword was covered by the Nevermore's mouth, but as it faded away into black, it was re exposed in Crystal's hand.

"Nice!" Fern called over her shoulder as she ran to the end of the car, aiming at another Nevermore.

The sun a shining orange orb, slowly sinking into the horizon as it set, making it glowing orange and gold. The clouds in front of it and around it were nearly black, some of the others very dark brown with lighter shades in different specks of it. The whole sky was turning orange and golden, the scent of summer warm in the air. The wind from the train was quite pleasant in this fight, and it gave the huntresses and huntsmen's battle against the Grimm a picturesque look.

"Oriole!" Fern shouted as another Nevermore flipped from the impact of her charged shot.

Weston and Naranja immediately turned and obeyed their leader, each hurrying to complete their team attack. Narajna raced to the edge of the car she was on, leaning down and Weston following behind her. He leaped on her back and jumped off, Naranja standing up and propelling him higher. After doing this, she immediately jumped off the side of the train to the cliffside with a burst of aura and a shot from her machine gun-spear-thing.

Weston, higher than her already, fell and jumped off of her, Naranja shooting her weapon directly below herself to help boost her teammate up. Now high enough and just below one of the last Nevermore, he dealt a series of very fast slices with his sword, his arms blurring as they moved with crazy speed.

Below him, falling, was Naranja, who began shooting rapid-fire at the Nevermore's outstretched wing. Stabbing his sword into the Nevermore's chin, Weston swung himself onto its beak, spun his sword in the air, and prepared to spend most of his aura in one heavy slice.

Another green explosion from Fern's heavy gun, the removal of its beak, its shredded wing, and the several slices on its chest resulted in the Nevermore's end. Its large body fell and slammed into the side of the cliff.

"Great work!" Fern shouted, her teammates answering her with a quick nod. She turned around to see Crystal fending off another Nevermore by herself. She was already on the back of its neck, her sword arced above her head. Then, with a triumphant shout and a burst of aura, Crystal decapitated the thing, grinning as her sword sliced through its neck like butter.

"Two more!" Naranja's clear voice called, seven train cars away. Fern and Crystal nodded to each other and then hurried to finish the job.

"Tunnel up ahead!" Weston shouted, his voice a mix of a man's deep voice, and a nasal teens.

Crystal glanced behind her and saw that there was indeed a tunnel incoming. She gritted her teeth and skidded to a halt.

"Let the last two eat it!" she called. Team FWN actually understood what Crystal had meant by 'eat it'. The stopped in their tracks and glanced around for a way to quickly get into the train.

Crystal jumped to the next train car, the one she had first came from, and jumped into one of the holes the Nevermore had made. She poked her head up and looked to both sides.

The other team was much closer now, the two Nevermores flying at them from behind.

"In here!" Crystal called, waving her arms from the hole. Fern was first to leap in, the Naranja and Weston, each through a different hole.

The two Nevermore met stone and trees instead of Naranja and Weston as the train disappeared into the dark tunnel, leaving the Grimm behind.

"We did it!" Naranja squealed, jumping up and down and hugging her teammates.

Weston smirked.

"That we did," he said. His voice was actually rather quiet. It wasn't soft or hushed, but just...quiet. Fern smiled and nodded her head.

"Great work, team," she said happily, "And Crystal."

"Oh, I love you guys so much!" Naranja cried, squishing them all together in another hug.

"And your really good at fighting, missy," she added, pointing to Crystal. Crystal nodded.

"I like to accept that fact," she said with a grin.

A gust of wind blew out from the two holes in the ceiling, blowing back Naranja and Crystal's hair and some papers still laying in the aisle. Bright sunlight filtered in and made two patches of light on the red carpeted floor.

"Well that was random," Naranja said after a minute of silence. Crystal shrugged.

"You guys second or third year students?" she asked, walking over and plopping onto a bench. Fern nodded.

"Second year," she said, folding her gun and putting it on her back, "We're from Atlas."

Crystal nodded.

"Why are you on the train to Signal?" she asked curiously.

"We were with some of the near-graduating students to help with some of the cities surrounding Beacon. You know, the ones were some of the Beacon students may have been living."

"Signal is one of them?"

"Yep. My team was selected to go because we were the only other team who volunteered. Professor-er _General _Ironwood, allowed us to go with some of the others. Maybe because there's only three of us. I don't know."

Crystal nodded.

"Are you a fourth year student?" Fern asked, sitting down with her team. Crystal grinned.

As much as she wanted to tell them she was, she decided to impress them and tell the truth.

"No. First," she said casually, looking out the window, "From Beacon."

FWN exchanged glances and nodded.

"Cool," Fern said, clearly impressed.

"I guess I don't need to ask why _you're _headed to Signal?" she continued.

"Just finding my teammate, friend and cousin," Crystal answered simply, "All of which are one person."

Fern nodded.

"Well," she said, standing up, "Maybe I'll see you around, if you're staying for a while."

Crystal shrugged.

"Yeah," she said, "Maybe."

Then Fern and her team left, all close together to a different car.

Crystal pondered at their closeness. They seemed to all have some sort of a bond together. It wasn't romantic or anything. More like the unbreakable bond between close siblings. Crystal smiled. If Mara and Nathen weren't a thing, then maybe her team would be like that.

The thought of Mara and Nathen reminded her of Beacon and her team, a wave of sorrow following. The her thoughts jerked to Symon. His kind, handsome face flashing in her mind and then sticking there. Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Oh, Symon," she whispered, "I hope I'll see you again!"

She remembered the dance, and the tournament, and that one time he lay feverishly in bed, his head in her lap. Oh, how she had loved that!

She had stayed from class with him to take care of him...and more. The two of them, though Symon had been tired and miserable, had a wonderful time, getting to know each other and playfully making jokes. That had been the time when Crystal had believed in her heart that she was in love with him, and him her.

"Oh, quit being such a baby!" Crystal snapped to herself, sitting up straight and glaring out the window. The shadow of a city loomed in the distance.

"You're almost there. Closer to Sapphy."

Then a reminder flashed in her mind like lightning. She snatched her scroll from her pocket and quickly dialed Sapphire's number, an eagerness running through her. She tapped her fingers impatiently on her bare knees as her scroll rang.

"I'm literally in Signal," Crystal murmured to herself, "There's no way her scroll is out of signal."

She giggled at her little pun.

"Welcome to Lightning Wire-"

"NO!" Crystal roared, throwing her scroll at the floor. Thankfully, it was carpet, or her scroll would break this time.

"Why again?!" she growled, "I hate you, Answering Machine!"

If anyone had been in the car at the time, Crystal would have been embarrassed for once.


	5. Sapphire Again

Summer sunsets were gorgeous, especially in Signal. It had been scenic enough on the top of the driving train with all the cliffs and such around them, but standing at the train station of a decently calm city at sunset was somehow nicer. At least to Crystal.

She stood on the deck of the station, her backpack with Beacon's crest on it in her hand and her sword's hilt strapped onto her back again. The sun cast orange rays of light over the station, illuminating the tops of people's heads and certain parts of the area. The faint smells of restaurant food wafed past in the warm summer breeze. The sounds of people talking, birds chirping, and vehicles driving was a mingled song.

Crystal hoisted her pack on her shoulders and licked her lips, looking around for a non-crowded way to exit. There were groups of people nearly everywhere around her...except for the left corner. Squeezing through it, she left the train station, looking around and taking in her surroundings.

"Sapphy shouldn't be too far away..," Crystal murmured to herself as she entered a quiet neighborhood. A few children were playing in the streets, their parents either on the porches or playing with them. Crystal smiled at the sight and then continue walking. It was a neighborhood that stretched out in a long row, houses on either side and houses behind those houses.

Walking on, she wondered how on Remnant she was going to find Sapphire. She could technically be in any one of these houses. Knocking on the doors of every single one would take forever and be embarrassing.

"I'll just try _one _more time..," Crystal mutured, pulling out her scroll and dialing Sapphire's number. She waited for a moment, doubt and hope swirled together in her mind as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Welcome to Lightn-"

"For goodness sake!" Crystal screeched, her voice echoing through the rows of houses. She did not throw her scroll, however, but threw her hands up in the air in defeat. If she had thrown it, then it would have shattered this time, the ground being a street and all. She put her scroll away and stomped on, tired of that one automatic voice and tired of her disability to talk to Sapphire.

She walked on for about ten minutes before stopping to tie her boots, which had unraveled during her trip. She had entered another neighborhood by now, the one behind the right side of the previous one. There were also children playing in this street, though not quite as many. When she stood up from tying her boots, she looked around again.

"Probably has a blue house," she mumbled. Then she took notice of a tall muscular man walking a weiner dog on the side of the road. It was an old-looking, fat wiener dog with dark brown splotches of fur on its dirty looking white fur and a dark blue collar around its neck.

The owner looked around at the neighborhood around him and walked on, passing Crystal with a polite nod of his head. Crystal stopped and stared at him, his features and clothing style sticking out to her. Blue t-shirt, jeans, super strong and lean, dark brown hair…

"Carmen!?" Crystal shouted, alarm and excitement beginning to rise in her chest. He swung around, his dog slowly turning his head to observe what her master was stopping for.

"Crystal!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up. He walked over to her and gave her a big warm hug, his rocky arms around her neck and head due to her shortness and his tallness.

The dog barked.

"It's so good to see you again, big guy!" Crystal said, happy to see someone familiar from Beacon again, "The last time I saw you there were Grimm running around everywhere and you were running off to a ship to escape."

Carmen laughed.

"Yes," he said, scratching the scruff on his chin, "We ended up landing in Anima. I live here, though, so I just took another ship to this place."

Crystal suddenly remembered something.

"Uh...what happened to the rest of your team?" she asked slowly, twiddling her thumbs and stirring in her place, "Are they here?"

The dog barked.

Carmen shook his head.

"Tyn and said he was going to head back to Jenpachi," he answered, his deep voice casual, "He said that's where he lives and he figured Nathen would head there too. Reuby said he was going to propose to Sandy before the attack on Beacon began."

"Oh," Crystal said, imagining Reuben as a married man, "That's nice."

"But then Beacon got attacked and we left," Carmen continue, "Sandy was on the same ship as we were and Reuben stayed with her. But then another Atlas ship, its windows were red, shot at us, and a small portion of our ship was hit."

"That's not good," Crystal said, "Ours crashed, though."

"Yeah," Carmen said, "There wasn't much damage, but it hit the part where Sandy and Reuben were. She was impaled by a piece of sharp metal."

Crystal put her hands to her mouth.

"Oh no!" she gasped.

The dog barked louder.

"Then Reuby said that she died in his arms," Carmen said, his face downcast, "It really is quite sad."

Crystal lowered her gaze to the fat white dog behind Carmen and stared at it. It's eyes were partially red and he looked tired. Her tail wagged some and she barked again.

"Now where is he?" Crystal asked, still making eye contact with the dog. Carmen scratched his head. His dog slowly began to waddle backwards, her short stubby legs scratching on the concrete.

"Uh..," he began, looking up in thought, "I'm pretty sure he said he was going back home a well...wherever that is. I think it was Gaiman Port or something."

"And Symon?" Crystal asked nervously, willing him to be close by. _Very _close by.

"I dunno," Carmen said simply, jerking the blue leash and forcing his slowly fleeing pet closer to his ankles, "He just left. Took a random train at the station when we were leaving."

"Wait," Crystal said, waving her hands and shaking her head, "You just let your team disband like that? You're just leaving your guys's team history fade away?"

Carmen shook his head.

"No, we're planning on meeting up at Vacuo Academy when the next year starts. We'll be entering as second year students." He grinned.

"And we don't have to wear uniforms. That place isn't really a gentleman's hub."

"Oh..," Crystal said slowly, her fingers locked together, "I see."

A feeling of disappointment began to settle on her. She had really hoped to see Simon.

"So who's that?" she asked abruptly, pointing to the fat white dog who was trying again to walk away. Carmen jerked the collar back again, forcing the dog to return to his master's ankles.

"This is Graisse," Carman said, glancing at his pet, "The laziest friend in Remnant."

Crystal giggled.

"Is she yours or are you just walking someone else's dog?" she asked with a grin.

"She's mine," he answered, "You think I don't have feelings for a pet?"

"Sure," Crystal said with a shrug, "And why'd you name her Grace if she's so fat?"

Carmen shook his head.

"Everyone thinks I meant Grace as in g-r-a-c-e, but it's g-r-a-i-s-s-e. It means fat."

Crystal laughed and shook her head.

"That's mean!" she giggled, "But _very _fitting!"

Carmen nodded.

"What brings you here?" he asked, "I thought you said you lived in Vacuo or something."

"Sapphy," Crystal answered, "She said she'd be here before...well, before we got separated at Beacon."

"I see," Carmen nodded, "What happened to you guys, anyway?"

"Well," Crystal began, not even needing to think hard to remember, "We fought off some of the Grimm that were on the dock. Then the ship that Nathen and Mara were on started to leave, I tried to land on it and almost failed, Sapphy joined me and we both got in, meeting up with those two. Then that crazy-huge dragon thing hit our ship and we crash landed. Thanks to some other students and myself, we didn't really get hurt. Then Sapphy ran off like a crazy person to find her sister and we ended up dragging her away. She got hurt pretty bad, but we managed to save her, I hope. We got separated by a falling building before I could see what happened. Now I'm here looking for her."

Carmen nodded.

"Quite the story," he said. Then he jerked the leash again, reining in Graisse for the third time now. Graisse grunted and began licking Carmen's ankles.

"Bad girl!" Carmen yelled, Graisse ceasing immediately.

She whined and sat down on his shoes.

Carmen rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," he said, stretching his buff arms, "I'd better get going. Sunny is waiting for me. I said I'd meet her tonight."

Crystal's eyes widened and she grinned.

"Who's Sunny?" she asked.

Carmen shrugged.

"Just a friend," he said casually.

_That's what every guy says when he's in love with someone. _Crystal said smugly to herself.

"Okay," Crystal answered with a nod.

"I hope you find Sapphire," Carmen said as he turned to leave, "It's nice to see you again. Keep in touch."

Crystal nodded.

"See ya!" she said with a wink. Then he walked away, Graisse's eyes on her until her head couldn't turn any more backwards.

Crystal sighed and continued walking, hoping that there was an easier way to find Sapphire.

"Ask around the neighborhood maybe?" she murmured to herself as she looked at the rows of houses everywhere. Signal was a bit larger that she had imagined.

At first, nobody she asked really knew who Sapphire was. Then, as she walked farther and farther from the city's station, one young man's face lit up when he saw Sapphire's picture on Crystal's scroll.

"Yeah!" he said brightly, "I don't _know _her, but I see her every once and a while. Usually taking a walk in the evenings or something."

Crystal sighed in relief, excitement beginning to fill her.

_I'm about to see Sapphy again! _she inwardly screamed.

"Thanks, man," she said quickly, hoping for a location, "Do you know where she lives?"

The man's brow furrowed and he thought for a moment.

"Not really..," he began slowly, "But I'm assuming she lives somewhere in the neighborhood across from here. Just around Holure Street."

Crystal nodded.

"Thanks," she said quickly. Then she turned around and skipped away, eager to find her cousin.

The sun had nearly set now, the sky nearly dark and glittering with stars. The horizon was just a faint orange glow, the sun no longer in view. The glowing white shattered moon was in sight now and the lights of some of the buildings in the more crowded part of the city were in plain view, as well as the lights in the houses windows.

The warm smell of food drifted out from a restaurant somewhere, making Crystals' empty stomach rumble.

_Sapphy will have something, _Crystal thought to herself, her hunger the last thing on her mind.

She rounded a corner and glanced at a street sign, illuminated by a nearby street light.

Holure Street.

Crystal hurried around the corner and glanced around at the houses: The first one had an older man sweeping its front steps. The next few were vacant of anyone. One on the far left had someone taking out the garbage, and the one next to it had a woman bringing some young children into the house. The street lights had been turned on for the night, and the made the long road much easier to see then the earlier one Crystal had been on.

She hurried to one of the vacant driveways of one of the houses and skipped up to the steps. Then she knocked quickly on the door.

An old woman appeared, wearing a dark blue shirt and golden earrings.

"Yes?" she asked, her voice old and sharp.

"Wrong house!" Crystal called, having run off of the steps as soon as the woman had appeared. She heard the door close a moment after it had opened.

The next house was answered by no one, and the next was the same, only, a dog was barking.

But the next house, a small white one, was not empty, for the lights inside were clearly on and movement could be heard inside. Crystal knocked eagerly on it, a new hope rising within her.

Then the screen door opened and Sapphire appeared.

She was wearing a simple outfit: A deep blue tank top, a pair of skinny black leggings, some white socks, and her Beacon skirt. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of her cousin and then she smiled with a gasp.

"Crystal!?" she cried, dropping the towel she was holding.

"Sapphy!" Crystal shouted, jumping on top of her and knocking her over.

The two of them fell on the hard wooden floor, laughing and crying, hugging each other and half-sobbing things about each other they could hardly make out.

"Who is it?" Misty's voice called from within the house.

Crystal and Sapphire stood up and wiped away their tears, smiling at each other.

"I know it's only been a little while, but I still really missed you!" Sapphire said, smiling at her friend. Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Two months is _way _long, Sapphy!" she said with over exaggeration, "You are my cousin, teammate, and friend."

"You two, Crystal," Sapphire said with another tear. The two hugged again, only feeling relief that they were okay and unharmed. Then they pulled away, smiling at eachother.

"Is anyone there, Sapph?"

"What happened to you after that building fell?!" Sapphire began, remembering instantly how they had been separated, "And how did you find me? Did you find Carmen? Have you found Mara or Nathen yet? Or the rest of team CRST?"

"Uh..," Crystal said, taking in what Sapphire had just shot at her. She stopped and remembered every question before answering.

"I found Carmen, have _not _found Nathen or Mara, Tyn's in Jenpachi, Nathen possibly with him, Reuben's in Gaiman Port, and Symon is I don't know," Crystal blurted as fast as she could.

"Sapphire, I asked a question!"

"What about after we got separated?" Sapphire asked, curiosity taking over.

"Sapphire!"

Misty marched angrily over from behind a wall. Her pale blue hair was in a messy bun, her clothing nothing more than a pair of fuzzy pajamas. Her face looked slightly paler than usual, but her hazel eyes glittered against the the paleness of her face. Her eyes widened and she smiled, walking over to them.

"Hey, Crystal," she greeted, giving her a quick hug, "It's funny how I feel less like your cousin and more like the Friend's Big Sister."

Crystal giggled.

"I tend to forget that you're my cousin, too," she said, patting her on the back, "How's your side? The last time I saw it, it was bleeding everywhere and draining your life."

Misty laughed.

"Much better, thanks," she answered, glancing at her side, "It's nothing more that a scar now, though, for some reason, I still don't have as much blood anymore as I did then."

"Then, as in when you were dying?" Crystal asked, confused, "Or then, as in _before_ you were clobbered?"

"Before," Misty answered with a nod.

"So how did you find me?" Sapphire asked, her eyes wide, "What happened?"

"That's a story," Crystal answered, stretching and yawning, "Give me something to eat and we'll talk it over."


	6. Catching Up

"Look out!" the girl with the light purple hair shrieked, pointing upwards. Crystal averted her attention to what she was pointing at.

A large building was collapsing, right over where the group was fighting.

"Out of the way!" a large man shouted, rushing away.

Sapphire ran away towards Misty, where everyone else was fleeing.

Crystal panicked and raced away to the opposite direction.

_No, no, no!_

"Crystal!" Sapphire screamed, dragging Misty away with another boy's help, "What are you doing?! Come back!"

Crystal rushed away, wondering how Sapphire didn't understand that she was _fleeing _from the building. She had been too far from where Sapphire was.

The building was nearly to the ground.

"I'll be in Signal!" Sapphire shrieked at the top of her lungs, several meters from Crystal. Crystal turned around, a glimpse of Sapphire the last thing she could see before a wall of stone, glass, and remnants of the building covered her up.

A shockwave blew Crystal backwards, scraping her on the ground and making her roll to a stop. Her aura had exploded the moment the shockwave had hit her, her aura having been to the bursting point right before that. Her world turned black for a moment, and then she gasped and sat up, slightly dizzy, hurting in places, and covered in dust.

She whipped her head around and glanced both directions, spotting several Grimm immediately. She scrambled to her feet and rushed away, glancing around for her sword. The light of the fire and the broken streetlights all around helped her to find it almost immediately, laying by a broken window on the ground.

She slid over to it, grabbed it, and did a somersault, standing back up in one smooth motion.

The she looked around at all the Grimm coming and noticed the ground she was on.

The torn up grass she was standing on was growing on a cliffside. Beacon's cliffside.

Seeing that her immediate options were limited and that her aura was gone, she looked behind her and made up her mind.

She was near the edge of Beacon Cliff. It had to be, seeing that there was a green forest below it in the distance, and even the stone launching plates were there, in a long row. She looked back just in time to see a huge white flash erupt on the top of Beacon, where Professor Ozpin's office was. It erupted as suddenly as if lighting had come, lingered, and then slowly faded away.

"What was that?!" Crystal shouted aloud, her eyes not leaving the spot of the white flash. The she heard the growls and the heavy steps of the Grimm rushing toward her.

Crystal took a deep breath, swallowed, and then turned around and started sprinting towards the cliffside. The Grimm were just on her tail, their snarls and breathing audible.

"Just a little faster..," she groaned to herself as she neared it. Then, taking one last glance at the full moon, she took another deep breath and leaped off the cliffside, holding her sword as tightly as she could. Some of the Grimm fell, while the others skidded to a halt just in time, sending small rocks and pebbles falling off the side.

Then, clearing her fuzzy, frightened head, Crystal landed, performing her landing strategy from months earlier and ended up standing next to her sword, panting. She had made it and escaped from Beacon.

"And without a ship, too," she panted to herself. She pulled her sword from the ground and folded it up, putting it on her back.

* * *

"And then the rest is pretty boring," Crystal finished as she took a gulp of creamy hot chocolate, "I got to a small village near Forever Fall, rested up, resupplied, and found my way to Patch."

"Oh..," Sapphire said, a white and brown cat curled in lap, "And that took two months?"

"Yep," Crystal said, looking hard at her empty mug, "One by Forever Fall, another finding a train station, ship, and traveling on foot for about two or three weeks."

"Oh," Sapphire said again, petting the cat. It sat up abruptly and then climbed over to Misty, settling down on _her _lap instead.

"Oh!" Crystal said, sitting up straight and pointing a finger in the air, "I was _also _bitten by a Simia Anguis on the way here. In Meadowbowl, actually."

Sapphire's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked, confused and worried at the same time.

"Yep," Crystal nodded, "I even have a scar-thingy!"

She pulled up her sleeve, exposing her shoulder and the bite mark. Sapphire got up from the couch and walked over to Crystal and then marveled at the wide scar, wondering how a monkey's jaw could expand so much.

"How bad was it?" she asked, sitting back down in her spot on the couch.

"Probably pretty painful," Misty said, now stroking the purring cat's silky fur.

Crystal shrugged.

"I fell off a cliff a little after it happened," she said, grinning as Sapphire's eyes widened again, "And then I landed, but then I think I passed out. Twice. And some lady named Olive who had three kids and a tough looking viking hubby made me all better."

She patted her shoulder and smiled.

"Neat," Misty said, standing up and holding the cat like a baby, "I'm gonna head up and take a shower."

Sapphire nodded and waved.

"See ya," she said as Misty walked up the stairs and disappeared through a door on the balcony.

Then she turned her head towards Crystal and smiled.

"Anything happen with you?" Crystal asked. Sapphire shook her head.

"Not really," she said, looking at her feet, which were covered by some fuzzy white socks, "I did perform at a small show in the theater for a singing role. And I supposedly did a 'good job.'"

"You were amazing, Sapph," Misty called from the bathroom.

Sapphire rolled her eyes.

"She thinks _everything _I do is amazing," she said. Crystal nodded.

"Yeah, she overestimates you," she giggled. Sapphire playfully threw a punch at her, which Crystal dodged.

"I sliced a bunch of monkeys into discs!" Crystal yelled, punching at her.

"I killed a boarbatusk!" Sapphire shot back, blocking it and making an attempt to slap her.

"I beheaded a Beringle!" Crystal shrieked, grabbing a pillow and throwing it.

"I killed a King Taijutsu!" Sapphire challenged with a shout, catching the pillow.

"I defeated several Nevermores on top of a train!" Crystal roared, standing on the couch.

Sapphire paused and then thought for a moment.

"I...choked on some cotton candy?" she said tentatively.

Crystal burst out laughing.

"How do you choke on cotton candy?!" she cried, plopping back down onto the couch.

"It got stuck in the back of my throat..," Sapphire mumbled. Crystal erupted into another fit of laughing. The white and brown cat came from behind the couch and settled herself back in Sapphire's lap.

"Hey, Waffles," Sapphire cooed, stroking the cat's soft fur.

"I had a cat named Annabelle," Crystal said, pointing at Waffles, "She looked just like that. But then Jade traded her for a different one named Suki. I'll never forgive her for that."

She gritted her teeth in mock anger and then giggled.

"Have you seen your sisters yet, or did you just come straight to me?" Sapphire asked curiously as they settled down again.

"I came straight to you, obviously," Crystal said as if the fact was clear as day, "Why go all the way to Vacuo and back to my dad?"

Sapphire frowned.

"What's wrong with Uncle Wain?" she asked, confused.

"Crystal looked down and her tone sobered.

"He's a drunkard," she spat glumly.

Sapphire's eyes widened and she gasped.

"He is?" she asked, surprised, "He seemed so nice when I talked with him on my scroll."

Crystal shook her head.

"And when was that?" she said, still looking down.

"Uh...a few years back," Sapphire answered, trying to remember, "I think about three years before Beacon."

"Exactly."

Crystal's mood could rapidly change over the course of a single moment or word. Often it was into anger or happiness. It was seldom sadness of gloom.

"What um...what happened since then?" Sapphire asked nervously. Crystal remained looking down.

"He lost his best friend and started drinking," Crystal began flatly, "Then he lost his job. And so my mom got a job since he wasn't making money anymore. Then he got mad because she was tired or not home all the time and so he kept on drinking. Now my mom's always working and my dad is always drunk. Jewels is always on missions. Jade is in Vacuo Academy."

"I'm sorry," Sapphire said, putting her arms around her cousin, "I didn't know all of that."

"No, it's fine," Crystal said, pulling herself from Sapphire's hug, "It doesn't really matter."

"Crystal," Sapphire began, sitting back, "Just because you're off saving the world and being a hero, doesn't mean you can leave your family matters behind."

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"I'm not," she said, irritated, "Just my dad."

"Still your family," Sapphire said.

Crystal sighed, an annoyed sigh, and rolled her eyes again.

"Look, can we talk about something else?" she asked. Sapphire looked down and sighed.

"Sure," she said slowly, "What did you find most annoying about your trip?"

Crystal brightened up immediately.

"The fact that you _never _answered your scroll," she said, pointing her finger accusingly at Sapphire, "I called you a million times!"

"Hey, I lost my scroll at the Fall of Beacon!" Sapphire defended playfully, hoping to encourage Crystal's bad mood away. It worked.

"Oh, well that makes sense," she said, frowning, "Why didn't I just assume that? Our plane crashed, for Pete's sake!"

"While I was holding my scroll," Sapphire added.

The two of them giggled and then settled down again.

"So..," Sapphire began, listening to the sound of the water running in the shower, "What do we do next? I mean, Beacon's destroyed. What's next?"

"I was thinking about that," Crystal said, popping a cheesy cracker into her mouth.

"And..?"

"And I have some suggestions," Crystal finished, "You got any ideas?"

Sapphire thought for a moment.

"Well," she said slowly, "I did have one...or two."

"Give 'em here," Crystal said, leaning back on the couch.

"Okay," Sapphire began, "I was thinking. We could enroll in another school. Haven perhaps? Or maybe Vacuo back at home. That way, we could finish our three next years of training and become huntresses."

Crystal thought for a moment.

"What else?" she asked.

"Uh...or we could just live on. As in, live like normal people unless we need to fight off some baddies."

"Nope!" Crystal said as soon as Sapphire finished, "Definitely not that!"

"Well, what are _your _ideas?" Sapphire asked.

Crystal shrugged.

"We could live like mysterious heroes," Crystal began, "Or help with the people in Beacon. Finish off the Grimm there and help rebuild and stuff. Or we could live like we _are _huntresses, like my first suggestion, minus the mysterious part."

"Oh! Or we could find Nathen and Mara and be a team together!" Sapphire chimed in excitedly.

"Or, if you want, we could find our families again, but we already know that's not _my _favorite option," Crystal said.

Sapphire nodded.

"I wonder if they're worried," she said anxiously, "I miss them."

"Sure," Crystal said with a shrug, "I miss my mom too. And my sisters."

"I haven't seen Jewels or Jade in quite a while," Sapphire mused, "It's been like..a year."

"Yeah, they don't miss you," Crystal said casually, "They never talk about you, either."

"Of course not," Sapphire said, "They're the Big Girls. The two older cousins that play with Misty and Misty alone."

The two of them giggled over the rules that the Minkh girls and the Lante girls had once used when younger during play times.

"We were two peas in a pod," Sapphire said, Waffles irritated at her constant movement, "And Jade, Jewels, and Misty were the Three Blind Mice."

"How do you remember that?!" Crystal laughed, "That was years ago!"

"You know how," Sapphire shot back, "I remember _everything_!"

"Everything ridiculous or irrelevant to remember!" Crystal answered, exploding the two friends into a laughing fit.

"You will die," Sapphire said, sitting up and pointing a shaking finger at Crystal.

"No..," Crystal said, grabbing a maroon blanket from the couch and wrapping it around her shoulders, "It is _you _who is going to die today!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sapphire said in a shady tone, "It is time…"

"You will know what it is like to lose..," Crystal whispered raspily, pointing at Sapphire.

"The price of freedom's high," Sapphire said, reaching for Crystal's empty cup and still keeping her eyes locked with hers, "Always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay."

"I have the greatest power that nobody could ever have," Crystal hissed, grabbing Waffles, who had wander from the couch after their laughing fit, by her tail.

"Heroes are made by the path that they chose," Sapphire yelled, "Not the powers they are graced with!"

"Prepare to die!" Crystal shrieked, throwing poor Waffles by her tail, right at Sapphire. Sapphire dodged the cat and ran at Crystal, the cup in her hand held high.

"You're going first!" Sapphire shouted, grabbing a pillow and clubbing Crystal in the face with it. Crystal ripped the blacket from her shoulder and covered Sapphire with it, wrapping her up in a bundle. But Sapphire wiggled out, just as Crystal was preparing to throw her into the table, and then threw the empty _glass _cup at Crystal. She dodged it and, of course, if shattered all over the hard floor of the kitchen, which was just behind them. They stood erect and waited to see what would happen.

"What happened?!" Misty shouted from the top of the balcony. She was wearing a towel wrapped tightly around her body with another wrapped around her hair.

"Sapphy broke a cup!" Crystal blurted, pointing at her cousin.

"I broke that cup!" Sapphire shouted, pointing to the shattered glass. Misty sighed and shook her head, muttering something under her breath.

"You two are so childish together," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, so?" Crystal demanded, crossing her arms.

"So, you two are 18," Misty said, "Adults."

"And we should be mature," Sapphire finished for her sister. Misty nodded.

"Sorry to be such a party crasher," she said, pulling her towel up a little higher, "But I mean it, and I'm tired and had no coffee since this morning."

Crystal nodded.

"Yeah," she said understandingly, "I haven't had coffee since two weeks ago Wednesday."

Misty rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Goodnight, you two," she said, yawning, "I'll see you guys in the morning."

With that, Misty left into a different room, leaving Crystal and Sapphire by themselves. Waffles had left after being roughly thrown.

"So...what are we going to do?" Sapphire asked, sitting back down on the couch.

It was fully night out, the sky completely dark and filled with shining stars, the street lights all on and casting light on the street, and the sounds of crickets and other night bugs chirping. The full, glowing moon shed its soft light down on the roofs of houses and silhouetted anything that went past it. It was relatively dim in Sapphire and Misty's small house, and the small lamps that were on, along with the kitchen light, shined a golden light that lit up the darkish room.

"I just gave you some ideas," Crystal said, also taking a seat. Sapphire nodded.

"Do you miss Nathen and Mara?" she asked slowly, looking up at her partner. Crystal gave her a weird look.

"Of course I do!" she growled, "They're my team! And my friends."

"I hope they're okay," Sapphire said quietly. She looked down and felt a tear drip down her cheek. Crystal nodded solemnly.

The two sat there in silence, staring out at the night through the windows.

"Should we go back to Beacon?" Sapphire began lightly. Crystal looked at her and raised a brow.

"Why?" she asked. Sapphire took a breath.

"We could help them rebuild. Finish off the rest of the Grimm that are probably lingering there. You know, useful stuff."

Crystal shrugged.

"I don't know," she said bluntly, "I mean, slaying Grimm is one of my specialties and I really find it enjoyable. But I miss my sisters and my mom...Nathen and Mara. What if we found them first, and _then _went back to Beacon and helped."

"Yes, but how would we find them?" Sapphire asked.

"I dunno," Crystal said with a shrug, "Call?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes.

"I don't think it'd work," she said, "They could be in a whole different kingdom, for all we know. And signals can't reach that far, I don't think. Not scroll signals."

"Then we find a communication tower," Crystal said, "And we contact them and find out where they are so we can meet up."

"I feel like that might not work either," Sapphire said. Crystal rolled her eyes.

"You don't think _anything _will ever work," she grumbled.

"How about we-" Sapphire began, when her scroll rung.

"Hello?" she said, snatching up her scroll and answering. She sat there, listening on her scroll for a while and nodding her head. Crystal tapped her fingers impatiently on the couch arm.

"Okay..," Sapphire siad, looking up, "I can do that. Nope. Um...maybe. I might be leaving this week for a while. No. I don't know for sure. Okay...Goodbye."

"Who was it, Sapphy?" Crystal asked, glad that she was off her scroll.

"Carmen," she answered, tucking her scroll away, "He wanted to know if I could stop by with you tomorrow."

"Okay," Crystal said with another shrug.

"So where were we?" Sapphire asked, scooting over to face Crystal.

"We were discussing Beacon," Crystal said.

"Right," Sapphire said, remembering now, "Should we go?"

"I say we find Nathen and Mara," Crystal said.

Sapphire shook her head and felt a frustration beginning to fill her.

"But how?" she asked a bit loudly, "I don't know."

"Communication tower?" Crystal suggested again.

"No," Sapphire grumbled, "There isn't even one here."

"Then we find one," Crystal said simply.

"I don't want to spend a bunch of lien by traveling to find a communication tower when we could just go and help with the repair of Beacon," Sapphire snapped.

"You really wanna help, don't you," Crystal said, holding up her hands for peace.

Sapphire nodded and sighed.

"I just-" she began, "I just..._really _miss that place and want to help repair it. That place was like a second home to me. I had so many memories with you, Nathen, and Mara there. I learned so much, too, and met so many new people. Even though it's probably _very _broken right now, I still want to see it and help bring it back. You understand, right?"

"Yep," Crystal said, nodding, "And if you _really _want to super bad, then I think we can do that just fine. I just want us to find our team though, okay?"

Sapphire nodded her head vigorously.

"Of course," she said, "I really miss them, too."

"Then it's off to Beacon next," Crystal cheered, holding up another cheesy cracker bit.

"Back to Beacon," Sapphire echoed, smiling.


	7. By Train, By Ship, On Foot

It was another beautiful morning. The sun shining brightly all around in the blue sky, marked by an occasional fluffy, white cloud.

The train station was a little less crowded as it had been when Crystal had first arrived, only a few groups of people standing around here and there.

Sapphire stood on the deck, now dressed in _real _clothing, not ragtag articles of clothes she had found sitting in her drawer: A gray, short sleeve, low-cut shirt with light purple sides, a deep purple tank top to hide what would have been revealed, a dark blue combat skirt with a spray of dark purple going across it and a darker blue hem, some light blue leggings that went below her knees with black floral designs spiraling out from the sides, some dark brown boots with buckles, and her Beacon backpack.

Her new scroll in hand, she dialed in her contacts, already done with nearly all of them. She was waiting for Crystal to come, as she had been taking a little long to pack her stuff and get ready to go.

"There we go..," Sapphire murmured to herself as she finished her mother's contact, making a picture she had taken of a pretty flower on the side of the station the photo. She sighed with satisfaction as she scrolled down the list she had made.

"Now, who am I missing?" she asked herself. Nathen and Mara's contacts had been remade, Sapphire remembering their contact information by heart, and their pictures were only colors; green for Nathen; brown for Mara. She missed them dearly, and hoped that she could find them soon.

She sighed and put her scroll away, hoping she hadn't missed anybody. She brushed a stray lock of blue hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Thoughts of Tyn began to run through her head, his face, voice, and memories of him following. She missed him deeply and hoped to see him soon. Her cheeks blushed slightly and a warmth filled her chest as she imagined him, standing right beside her now with his weird eye shape...his soft smile...his kind voice.

"Sapphy!" Crystal shouted, appearing from some trees that stood in between the train station and a house. She waved at Sapphire as she rushed over to meet her, a her backpack on her shoulders.

She, too, was wearing a new set of clothes, her previous ones being too dirty and torn for her liking. Several layers of wrapps, shirts and overcoat-like clothing were on her, and the color and style fit her nicely.

"I see you _finally _decided to try a combat skirt?" Crystal panted as she stepped over to her cousin. Sapphire smiled and nodded.

"It's actually pretty comfortable," she said, lifting up her leg and testing the skirt's flexibility, "I like it."

"See why I scolded you about it before?" Crystal said, flicking her own combat skirt with her fingers, "Now nobody can see underneath it."

Sapphire gasped and playfully slapped at Crystal's face.

"Did _you_?!" she asked, shocked. Crystal giggled and nodded.

"More than once!" she laughed. Sapphire's face turned red with anger and shame and she slapped Crystal hard in the face.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?!" she hissed. Crystal just laughed again, rubbing the spot on her cheek.

"Because I wanted Tyn to get a little treat the next time you two sparred!" she giggled.

Sapphire's eyes widened and she took in a deep breath.

"_When _was that?" she whispered, looking furiously into Crystal's eyes.

"Oh, you two didn't spar after that," Crystal said, waving a hand, "It was near the tournament, unfortunately."

Sapphire shook her head, her face still red.

"I'm going to kill you," she mumbled. Crystal just laughed.

"Hey!" Misty's voice called, "Cous'!"

Sapphire and Crystal turned around to see Misty running over to them.

She was wearing a sky blue shirt with a darker blue overcoat-like dress. It looked like a dress from behind, reaching down to her thighs, and it went around her like a dress, but then parted at the middle, making it like some sort of coat. She also wore some flip flops and a white sash that was tied around her waist, along with some tight black leggings that went just above her ankles . Her pale blue hair was up in a ponytail, which blew in the breeze.

"What's up?" Sapphire asked, mildly concerned.

Misty jogged to the station and jumped onto the deck, landing beside Sapphire.

"I just wanted to say goodbye for the millionth time," she said, smiling. Sapphire nodded.

The two embraced, a tear running down Misty's face.

Then they stood up straight and looked at each other in the eyes.

"Go be a hero, Sapph," Misty said, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder, "But save some of the work for me."

She winked and then they hugged again with a laugh.

"See you after we do what we can in Beacon?" Sapphire said, wiping away her own tear.

"See you then," Misty said with a nod, "Keep in touch!"

And with that, they hugged again, and Misty left.

A cloud of steam came out from the train that had recently pulled up and the whistle blew loudly.

"One minute!" a man's voice shouted.

Crystal and Sapphire exchanged glances and then nodded to each other. With their backpack on their backs and their weapons in their belts, they boarded the train for Gaiman Port.

The train ride was not an eventful one, as had been Crystal's recent one. It lasted only few hours, then they arrived at Gaiman Port. It was right on the edge of Patch that faced Vale, and a perfect place to sail or fly there.

Crystal and Sapphire walked out in the streets of the crowded city. A rather large amount of the people around were carrying fishing nets, poles, baskets, and fishing gear as they roamed around. It was a small town, and, seeing and smelling all of the fish, they assumed it was a fishing town. It was right on the edge of the water, afterall.

"I _love _fish!" Crystal sighed as they walked past a grill place, the aroma of fried seafood wafting from the kitchen.

"Too bad they don't serve a lot of it in Beacon," Sapphire said, taking in her surroundings as they walked, hoping to find a cheap ship to Vale. Crystal nodded in agreement.

"Too many people think fish are stinky," she said, sticking out her tongue and rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Sapphire sighed, "Misty doesn't care for it either. But she does like ranch on pizza."

"Ew!" Crystal squeaked, wrinkling her nose, "I hate ranch on pizza!"

"You don't even like ranch in general," Sapphire said.

"It's too..," Crystal began, pausing to think of the word, "Too...what's the word?"

"Zesty?" Sapphire finished, looking at her friend. Crystal nodded.

"Yup, that's it," she said, nodding.

"Look!" Sapphire called suddenly, pointing to an area by the shore. It was a large dock, several ships and boats anchored by it and flooded with people.

"Think we can find train tickets that cost thirty lien?" Crystal asked with a raised brow.

"Sure we can," Sapphire answered, rolling her eyes, "This is a fishing town, afterall."

"Whatever..," Crystal muttered.

When they arrived and, after about half an hour of searching and asking, found out where to buy tickets, they hurried to the place the sold tickets.

"Woah," Crystal said, gawking at how many options there were compared to how many there normally were at most of the train stations she had been to, "There are a _lot _of places you can get to...Just by these docks."

Sapphire nodded, scanning over the different places.

"I wonder if I could get to Kessho from here," Crystal mused, tapping her finger to her chin, "Then I could see Jewels and Jade and Mom…"

"Uh huh..," Sapphire murmured, lighting up when she found a port city on the edge of Vale.

"Oh! And we could visit your parent's house!" Crystal squealed, clapping her hands together, "We could surprise Aunt Opal and Uncle Ray!"

"Look, Crystal!" Sapphire said cheerfully, pointing to a place on the board, "We can get to Vison from here. And the tickets are only forty lien!"

"Forty!" Crystal groaned, "But I said thirty!"

"We have forty," Sapphire said, annoyed, "You're such a crook."

"Hush up," Crystal muttered.

Sapphire rolled her eyes.

The ship ride was also somewhat uneventful. But it was simple and pleasant. The air was cool and smelled like the ocean; the sun was shining; it was a perfect day to go out like this.

Sapphire was relieved that she didn't get seasick anymore, like she had when she was a little girl. Crystal, too, had been like that. But now, she roamed the deck freely, chased by a few laughing young children on board.

Sapphire stood on the deck by the railing and watched the sea, smiling at the thought of seeing Tyn or her family again. The ocean spread out so far...It was like an endless expanse of blue. She breathed in a deep breath of the salty sea air, smiling at the familiar scent.

Her home in Vacuo had been in Kesho, a city decently close to the shore of Vacuo. The air around there had often had the salty smell of the sea, carried by the wind.

It was sunset when she could see the shore of Vison, a port city in Vale, in the distance.

"We're almost there!" Crystal whooped, jumping up and down. The children that had been on her heels all day also jumped and cheered, whooping in the same way Crystal had.

And when they got to Vison, Sapphire hoped that Beacon wasn't too far away. She had had enough traveling for one day.

The next day was like the day before, only, instead of spending several hours on a train or ship, they were walking. Walking and setting up camp. Walking and taking breaks.

There was no train station in Vison, nor in the next town, or the next.

Airships were too expensive and the taxi drivers didn't go far enough.

And the one bus that slowly traveled and was driven by an old man that could get to Beacon, was not allowed to go to Beacon, due to safety precautions.

And so, for the next four days, Sapphire and Crystal walked towards Beacon, using maps, signs, and other people, to point them in the right direction, lien to keep their food and water supply up, and their backpacks and their single tent for their three nights in the dark.

And on the fifth day, after Sapphire had begun to think that she couldn't bear anymore of Crystal's 'horror' stories about the times she had stubbed her toe or broken her fingers on small occasions, they finally reached a familiar place they had visited before.

The moment they saw the bright red leaves on every single tree in sight, as well as all on the ground where they stepped, they both sighed with relief.

Forever Fall.

"I missed this place," Crystal said, walking forward and looking all around them, "I loved that Grimm I killed. Too bad it's dead now. I would have loved to re-visit him over and over again!"

Sapphire rolled her eyes and followed Crystal, the sight and beauty of the forest bringing back memories of their field trip almost a year earlier.

"Remember when we had to collect sap," Sapphire murmured, imagining a glass jar in her hand.

"How could I not?" Crystal said, grabbing a leaf off of a tree and picking parts of it off, "It was tasty!"

"Yes," Sapphire said, rolling her eyes, "I miss doing stuff like that."

"Eh," Crystal said, dropping the bits of red leaf onto the ground and grabbing another, "I don't. Too much school that didn't involve combat."

Sapphire rolled her eyes again and continue walking, taking in a deep breath of the crisp clean air. A cool breeze blew by, carrying several red leaves like petals with it.

"I love this place," Sapphire said, smiling, "It's so beautiful."

"Yeah," Crystal said, throwing the red leaf into the wind, "Whatever."

"Beacon's only about a mile or two away," Sapphire said hopefully, "So we're pretty close."

"Okay," Crystal said, stretching and then scratching her chin, "But I'm hungry, so we should stop for lunch soon."

Sapphire smiled and then nodded.

"Okay, then," she said, now in a rather good mood.

The two of them walked on, glancing around at the scenery and looking around for an occasionally sign.

They had been walking for almost an hour, when they bumped into something. Or _someone_.

"Oh!" a soft, sweet voice peeped, "I'm so sorry!"

Sapphire looked up to see another girl staring at her with an apology in her eyes. Her bright, red eyes, framed by milky white skin and thick auburn hair. Her long maroon dress flapped in the breeze, along with the ivory apron that hung from her waist, covering most of the dress's front.

A bright red overcoat with long sleeves and golden highlights covered her arms and some of her torso, matching the dress and complimenting her eyes. Somehow, the girl, looking to be about her own age, looked familiar. But Sapphire couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"That's...okay?" she said, still trying to remember who this was.

The girl looked down at the basket she had been holding, which was now on the ground, the contents scattered all around it. She sighed and bent down to pick them up, but was joined by Sapphire. Crystal licked her lips when she found that it was food. Good food.

"I just didn't see you there!" she said, her head down as she picked up the food and put it in the basket, "I don't often meet many people around here."

"It's okay," Sapphire said, dropping the whole idea of this girl, "Me either. Though, I've only been here twice, so...you know."

"Beacon Field trip?" the girl asked with a shy smile.

"Yeah," Sapphire said, looking up, "How did you know?"

The girl smiled.

"Because Beacon students usually come here every year or so," she answered.

Sapphire nodded.

"Okay," she said.

The two locked eyes and stared deeply at each other. Deep blue into deep red.

"Do I know you?"

The commonly asked question repeated itself for the millionth time in Sapphire's life.

"I feel like it," Sapphire said, shurgging, "You?"

The girl looked down and thought for a moment, her eyes moving around as she thought.

The her eyes widened and she gave a short gasp.

"Sapphire?" she blurted suddenly.

"Uh, yeah," Sapphire answered slowly, scratching the back of her head, "I still don't know who you are."

"I'm Scarlet," she said sweetly, "Scarlet Minstrel."

"Still doesn't ring any bells," Sapphire said, confused.

Scarlet took a deep breath and sighed.

"Do you remember Team Camp?" she asked tentatively.

"Uh, yeah?" Sapphire said.

"And Team Blue would always hide in the waterfall?" Scarlet continued, "While Team Red would always join Team Silver?"

Sapphire raised a brow.

"Yes," she said, wondering how Scarlet knew of such from her childhood.

"What are you guys blabbering about?" Crystal asked, having no idea what on Remnant they were discussing, or who this red head was, "I'm bored."

"And remember 3 from Team B?" Scarlet continue urgently.

There was a moment of silence before Sapphire's eyes widened and she gasped as well.

"SAM?!" she shouted, alarmed. Crystal jumped from the sudden sound. Scarlet flinched, and then nodded slowly.

"How-? Wha-! Did you-?" Sapphire stuttered, trying to understand the connection.

"It's good to see you too," Scarlet said softly.


	8. Scarlet

"So, you and your brother live out here by yourselves?" Sapphire asked as the three of them walked through the forest. Scarlet nodded.

"It's just me and my brother here in Forever Fall," she said.

"How old is he?" Crystal asked eagerly.

"He's only 19," Scarlet said slowly, "Why?"

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"No reason," she said.

"I thought you were with Symon," Sapphire said suspiciously, glancing at her cousin.

"Look, Sapphy," Crystal shot, glaring at Sapphire, "Nobody knows where Symon is, and I don't want to hunt him down for a million years while there are still other options!"

Sapphire gasped, along with Scarlet, who had been listening.

"You would just cast off Symon like that?" Sapphire said, eyes wide.

"Yes!" Crystal yelled, suddenly angry, "I mean, no! I mean-" She pulled at her hair with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut with frustration. "I don't know!" she shouted, "I just know that he's gone and I don't think he should have left me like that."

"He didn't leave you," Sapphire objected, "You were separated by all the Grimm attacking."

"No," Crystal said angrily, "You saw it yourself. He and the rest of team CRST ran off towards the docks while we were still inside of the arena! He could have stayed or something!"

The memories of the Fall of Beacon flooded back to Crystal's mind and heaped themselves on her, playing over and over, along with Symon's handsome, kind face.

"We were all panicked!" Sapphire said, frustrated.

"Just-" Crystal cut in, pausing once Sapphire stopped, "Just stop. _Please_."

Sapphire was surprised at Crystal solemness, but obeyed.

Scarlet said nothing, and the group slowly continued to walk on. Nobody said anything for a while. Then Crystal spoke up again.

"You got good food at your house?" she asked quietly.

"Uh, yes," Scarlet said, "We could eat when we get there, if you'd like."

Crystal mumbled her reply and nodded her head.

"Alright, then," Scarlet said lightly.

More silence.

"Did your brother build your house?" Sapphire asked brightly, hoping to change the shady mood.

"Uh," Scarlet began, hesitant, "Yes."

"Nice," Sapphire said, nodding, "Is it big?"

"Not really," Scarlet said, looking at her simple leather boots as she walked.

"Okay," Sapphire said, nodding some more.

Another long moment of silence passed before Scarlet spoke up again.

"He-my brother-may be a little...er...odd, when you meet him," she said slowly.

"Like how?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"Like...uh," Scarlet began, stammering, "Like...he has a mental illness."

"He _has _a mental illness, or it's _like _he has a mental illness?" Sapphire asked.

"He-uh-_has _one," Scarlet answered.

_Must be embarrassed about it or something. _Sapphire said to herself, observing Scarlet's hesitance.

"Okay."

"Are we almost there?" Crystal grumbled behind them.

"Yes," Scarlet answered patiently, "About seven more minutes or so."

"Sounds good," Sapphire said cheerfully.

Scarlet and Sapphire smiled at each other and continue walking.

A little while later, they arrived at a small, but well built cabin nestled deep in some large red bushes and a cluster of trees. There were two windows in sight, white curtains visible through the glass. All around the house were a bunch of purple orchids, bright against the brown of the cabin and the reds of the trees around them. It was a sweet, cozy, and quaint little house.

"Wow!" Sapphire said, smiling at the cabin, "That looks really nice!"

"Yes," Scarlet said, nodding, "It really is a nice place to live, especially in Forever Fall."

Another gust of wind blew another stream of red leaves and petals across the area they were standing in.

"Can we get some food already?" Crystal said impatiently behind them.

Sapphire and Scarlet looked at each other and then sighed.

"Yes," Scarlet said, her eyes closed, "Of course."

Sapphire glared at Crystal before following Scarlet into the cabin.

The inside was just as cozy and quaint as the outside, only, it was furnished and indoors. The cabin was three rooms; the first, was the one they walked into, the dining room, kitchen, and living room. The thing separating the kitchen from the dining room was a countertop, and the thing separating the living room from the dining room was a small table with a plant on it and the large red couch that sat in front of the fireplace, which was crackling and glowing with a warm fire.

The next room was a bathroom, made mostly of wood, and then there was a bedroom. It had a thick maroon curtain separating it into two sectors, one bed on each side.

"Where's your brother?" Sapphire asked as Scarlet led them to a wooden table in the dining room.

"Oh," Scarlet began, looking around and then shrugging at Sapphire with a sweet smile, "He's probably out collecting sap or something right now. He should be back, uh...later."

"Whatever," Crystal muttered, still in her gloomy state, "Give me some food."

"Crystal!" Sapphire scolded, giving her cousin a glare, "Don't talk like that. That's rude!"

Crystal just rolled her eyes and Scarlet giggled.

"It's okay," she said softly, "I don't mind."

"Sorry about her," Sapphire apologized as she helped Scarlet pull out some bread, "It's just, sometimes, when she gets angry or sad, she'll be _really _into that mood for a while. And then she'll just randomly jerk herself out of it."

Scarlet paused and then shook her head as if to clear it.

"Oh, yes," she said sweetly, "I understand. My brother is like that sometimes."

Sapphire nodded.

"It must be hard to have an older brother with a mental illness," she said quietly.

Scarlet hesitated, but then answered.

"Uh-yes, it does get a little difficult at times."

She quickly reached for a jar of red sap from the cupboard and set it on the table, along with a silver butter knife.

"You can help yourself to some bread and sap," she offered to Crystal cheerfully.

Crystal, who had been sitting glumly at the table, immediately cheered up and grabbed the jar of sap, popped the cap off, and began to slather it all over a slice of bread. Scarlet giggled and turned to Sapphire.

"She certainly does rapidly switch moods," she said. Sapphire shrugged.

"Let's eat," Scarlet said, sitting down and patting the seat next to her. Sapphire took the offered seat with a smile, and the three began to eat the bread and red sap.

"And here is where we collect most of out sap," Scarlet said, pointing to a grove of trees a few meters from the back of the house. Several glass jars and jugs were at the foot of each tree.

"And over there," Scarlet continued, pointing to a small stream that ran next to the trees, "Is where we get most of our water for drinking, washing, bathing. You know, that kind of thing."

Crystal and Sapphire nodded.

"Me and my brother are constantly finding new and beautiful things here. It really is a wonderful place to live," Scarlet said, smiling.

"I can tell," Crystal said, raising a brow, "That's like, the fourth time you've said that."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Scarlet apologized immediately, "I just love it here a lot."

"Fifth," Crystal said, crossing her arms.

"Sorry again!" Scarlet said, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"It's perfectly okay," Sapphire said, wishing that Crystal would just shut her mouth.

"Well, anyway," Scarlet said, going back to their original subject, "Sometimes Grimm come around. But I-I," she paused and looked down, "I manage to fend them off."

Sapphire's eyes widened.

"How?" she asked, "Are you a huntress or something?"

Uh-" Scarlet began, hesitating, "I-um...had some training from...my father."

"Nice," Sapphire said, nodding, "Was he a huntsmen?"

"Uh-yes," Scarlet said, nodding.

_She seems _very _hesitant and nervous about everything she's saying. _Sapphire said to herself.

"Cool," Crystal said, jumping up and just missing a bright yellow bird on a branch above her, "Was he good?"

"Yes. Very good," Scarlet said, looking around, "How about we go inside for some tea? I have a few different flavors."

Sapphire and Crystal exchanged glances, confused at her sudden change of subject.

"Is your father dead?" Crystal asked abruptly. Sapphire tensed, sucking ari in through her teeth at Crystal's question.

_You don't randomly ask if someone's parents are dead! _she mentally screeched.

Scarlet's eyes shadowed and she looked down, her auburn bangs covering her eyes.

"Yes," she said quietly, "I lost both of my parents a long time ago."

Sapphire's eyes widened and she felt a pang of sorrow go through her.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Sapphire felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Wait," Crystal interrupted, her voice not even the slightest bit sorrowful, "How could you have been trained enough to fend off Grimm, but had only been train when you were six?"

Sapphire wanted to slap her in the face, but refrained from doing so.

"I-" Scarlet began, trying to answer, "I had a neighbor teach me."

"I'm really starting to doubt a lot about what you're saying," Crystal said, frowning, "You are _way _too hesitant to be telling the truth. And with each question I ask, you keep making another reason why I'm not right."

Scarlet just stood there, nervous and slightly trembling, her eyes darting around for something, anything, to keep Crystal from her suspicions. Then she found a retreat.

"There he is!" Scarlet blurted, pointing behind Sapphire and Crystal.

The two of them swing around and looked for whatever it was Scarlet saw. Then they saw him.

"Rubrum!" Scarlet called, walking quickly over to the grove of sap trees, "Rubrum, you're back!"

A tall boy, the same age as Scarlet, stood by the sap trees, a jar in hand. His hair was deep red, just a few shades darker than his eyes. His skin was as pale as Scarlets, and the two, standing next to each other, looked very much like twins.

"Are you guys twins?" Crystal called.

"Yes," Scarlet answered over her shoulder before turning her attention to her brother.

"He's pretty handsome," Crystal said, eyeing his _very _handsome face.

"He doesn't _look _like a mentally ill person," Sapphire mused, observing his normal face.

"Yeah," Crystal said, scratching her chin, "He doesn't look like a normal retard. Those people! They're like fat two year olds who got smashed upside the chin with a sledgehammer."

Her reply was answered by a harsh slap from Sapphire.

"Hey! Quit! Ow!" Crystal hissed all at once. Sapphire glared at her cousin and shook her head.

"That's very rude," she said simply, crossing her arms.

"But it's _true_!" Crystal snapped, rubbing her cheek.

"I don't care if it's true!" Sapphire said angrily, "Just don't talk like that!"

"So you admit it's true!" Crystal said, pointing at Sapphire with a grin.

"No!" Sapphire roared.

Then Scarlet came over with her brother, holding his hand. He looked curiously at the group and then nodded.

"This is my brother," Scarlet said, gesturing towards him.

"I'm Rubrum," he said warmly, shaking Sapphire's hand and then Crystal's. His voice was pleasant and rather nice.

"I'm Sapphire," Sapphire said sweetly.

"And I'm Crystal," Crystal said after shaking his hand.

"What brings you to me and my sister's house? Scarlet hasn't made that clear to me yet."

"Oh, we're actually on our way to Beacon," Sapphire said, wondering why Rubrum hadn't been acting as strange as she thought he would have.

"And why is that?" he asked, "Wasn't it destroyed and attacked by Grimm and the White Fang?"

Crystal and Sapphire exchanged glances.

"We came to help build it back up," Sapphire answered, "Kill the Grimm lingering there and stuff."

Rubrum nodded.

"I see," he said simply, "I'm going to widdle another chair. See you two later."

And with that, he left towards the front of the cabin.

"Is it just me?" Sapphire began, "Or did your brother seem a little..._normal_?"

Scarlet hesitated again.

"Well, yes. But he's not like this all the time. He changes."

"Oh," Sapphire and Crystal both said at the same time.

"He seems nice," Crystal said, smiling, "Does he like girls?"

Sapphire took in a deep breath.

"I don't know," Scarlet said slowly, "We don't have any of them come by here."

"Well whatever," Crystal said, shrugging, "Let's explore more."

"Okay," Scarlet said, nodding, "But please be back by sunhigh."

"Sure," Crystal said, skipping off. Sapphire stayed,

"Wanna chat a while?" she asked Scarlet. Scarlet nodded.

"Sounds great," she said sweetly.

* * *

**Alright, so here on, I haven't edited a ton or re-read, so I apologize if some things don't line up or just don't make sense. Volume 1 was finished a few months ago, and I had re-read some of it already. The main plot of that one had been pretty lax, and now I'm onto my own storyline.**

**It's a bit complicated, so again, I apologize if things are just sort of strange or random; I don't have any official writing experience or any of that, and I'm still learning how to make things make sense in my writing. **

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more chapters!**


	9. The Minstrel's Weapon

"I told you," Sapphire said as Crystal felt the plaster-like wall. Crystal shrugged.

"So what?" she said, crossing her arms, "They have a wall of plaster as part of their house. They're weird people, anyway."

"Yeah," Sapphire added, "And nobody does that! Plaster is fragile for a wall. Anything could smash through it. Even a kid could kick through that!"

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"So?" she said, raising a brow.

"So..," Sapphire began, waving her arms for emphasise, "So...So it's weird!"

"Sheesh, Sapphy," Crystal said, walking away with a wave of her hand, "I'm weird, and you aren't calling me suspicious. Take a break and be normal."

"Me be normal?!" Sapphire steamed, clearly paranoid, "I'm always normal! You're never normal!"

Crystal just chuckled and disappeared behind the wall in the hallway.

"Stupid teammate! Stupid me!" Sapphire hissed, facepalming.

"Watch your mouth, Sapphy!" Crystal called from the kitchen.

Sapphire looked down.

"Usually Crystal's the one who never gets it," she sighed.

"Hey!" Crystal called back, "I always get everything!"

"Stop eavesdropping!" Sapphire yelled towards the door.

"Remember, Sapphy," Crystal called, her head peeking out from around the corner at her, "I can hear everything!" She added a creepy tone to emphasize the word everything and wiggled her fingers in a silly way. Sapphire rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Crystal's head darted back into the hallway and Sapphire jumped out of the room, upon instinct. It was Scarlet.

"Oh! Uh-hey!" Crystal said, waving her hand vigorously, "What up?!"

"Hi, Sam," Sapphire said, waving with a smile. Scarlet raised a brow.

"Why were you both just in my room?" she asked warily.

"I-uh," Sapphire began, unsure and not wanting to lie to her friend.

"We thought we heard something and we rushed to where we heard it," Crystal cut in, saving the day, "It sounded like it came from in here."

Scarlet's eyes widened and she began to look afraid.

"What did it sound like?" she asked, panicked. Sapphire and Crystal exchanged glances and swallowed hard.

"Like a thud," Crystal said, "A kind of quiet thud, but at the same time, a really loud thud."

Sapphire looked at Crystal and raised a brow.

_That doesn't make any sense!_ she inwardly scolded her, _Those are opposites!_

"What she's trying to say is," Sapphire began, trying to think of something, "It was strange."

Scarlet nodded solemnly.

"We should check the house's borders," she began, "Then we should check the rooms."

Sapphire took in a breath, wondering how Scarlet had bought any of this.

"Are you sure?" Crystal said, scratching her head, "Because it was just a thud-"

"Sounds good," Sapphire cut in, slapping Crystal on the back.

Scarlet nodded again and then hurried to the door.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," she called, "Check the rooms!"

And with that, the door slammed shut and Scarlet hurried away.

"What was that?!" Sapphire hissed, her spit getting on Crystal's face.

"Hey, I said that we shouldn't have gone in her room," Crystal said in her defense.

"No you didn't!" Sapphire yelled, "You were eager to go in!"

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Same thing."

Sapphire sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"Now Scarlet's gonna be alert for a while!"

Just then, they heard a strange sounded like a quiet thump, but somewhat like a loud thump.

"Did you hear that?" Sapphire whispered. Crystal nodded.

"A quiet thud but at the same time a loud one," she whispered back.

"Actually," Sapphire said slowly, "It was more of a thump."

"Whatever," Crystal mumbled, "Same thing."

The two of them heard another one, slightly louder.

"Okay, something's fishy here," Crystal said, no longer whispering and turning around to face Scarlet and Rubrum's room. Sapphire did the same, her hand going to her weapon.

Crystal's hand went to the hilt strapped to her back.

Another soft thump.

Crystal pulled out the hilt and clicked the button. The silver blade shot out and nearly stabbed the low wooden ceiling. Sapphire's boomerang was out and into bow mode in one swift move.

Then the two waited as another thump followed another one. All in the Minstrels' room.

Crystal licked her lips and waited. Sapphire's heart thumped in her chest, audible to her in the silence of the hallway.

Then, so suddenly and quietly that both Crystal and Sapphire jumped with fright, a woman walked slowly through the door, looking at her scroll.

Sapphire shrieked. Crystal screamed and swung her sword hard at the lady, hitting her in the head and knocking her over with an "Eek!"

"Ebony?" Sapphire gasped, her hand going to her mouth in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Ebony, who was laying on the floor holding her head, looked up at Sapphire, her eyes widening.

"Sapphire?" she began, confused, "What-what are you doing here?"

Sapphire paused, her mouth open, and then glanced at Crystal.

"It doesn't matter!" Crystal shouted, kicking at Ebony hard with her foot. Ebony rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet, pulling out her sword-gun thing with her teeth gritted.

The three of them stood there, weapons out.

"Who else is here?" Sapphire asked, still very confused as to why Ebony was here.

She just gritted her teeth again and sliced her sword at Crystal.

"I'll just say there's more than one," she said, her sword clanging with Crystal's.

Then the two began a sword fight; huge light blade with a smaller, heavier one.

Nearly every slice Ebony dealt wad dodged or blocked by Crystal, and most of the hits that Crystal dealt had the same effect on Ebony. Sapphire stood there, wondering what she could do to help this battle. There didn't seem to be much she could do that would actually help.

Then she remembered that there may be others in Scarlet's room.

Running, she burst into the room, her bow into a pistol, aimed at any possible threat. Inside, she saw that there were exactly four of them in there, two on their scrolls, one looking around the room, and one looking frightened at Sapphire.

"Lante?" the one with ivory hair looking at her asked, confused.

"Birch?" Sapphire replied, equally confused. The two locked eyes; blue with amber. The three others looked at Sapphire, recognition flickering in their eyes, except for one of the other girls, who seemed confused at Sapphire.

"Who're you?" she asked, her voice high for her age.

"That's Sapphire Lante," one of them, Jay, responded, "She's one of us." He looked warrily at Sapphire. "Not sure why she's here, though."

Sapphire just squinted and lowered her weapon.

"Can you tell me why you're all here?" she asked, "Because I wasn't notified."  
The sounds of Ebony and Crystal fighting got louder, and the four Clannies noticed it, suspicion rising on their faces.

"Didn't Onyx tell you or something?" Ransom, one of the Clannies, asked, "I mean, your his niece, right? I'd assume he'd tell you personally. Otherwise, wouldn't Bekker send you the notification that we were coming here?'

"Bekker?" Sapphire asked, raising her voice to try to block out the fighting behind her, "Why not-" She stopped when she remembered Trent's dead body in the tunnel.

"I assume you've heard about Trent's death?" Mira, another Clannie, asked softly.

"Saw it," Sapphire answered solemnly. Jay just stood impatiently in the corner, a suspicious look in his oddly pale blue eyes.

"So Onyx sent all of you, plus Ebony, to come here?" Sapphire asked, wishing that the two behind her would fight a little quieter.

The group nodded.

"Why? Why are you here?" she asked, hoping she could stay on their good side.

"Onyx gave us orders to investigate this home," Birch replied, "He said, 'the house in Forever Fall'."

"Oh," Sapphire said slowly, wondering what might have caught his attention about the Minstrel twins, "And that's it?"

"Sort of," Jay said, stepping forward, "We'll need you to tell us the truth. And only the truth."

"What?" Sapphire asked, nervousness beginning to warm her face and neck, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Jay said, walking slowly forward, "I need you to tell me if you were the one opening the doors and passages to let the crowd escape."

"I-uh," Sapphire began, the hand clutching her weapon shaking, "I...I-"

Then, right at the perfect moment, Ebony was smashed into the room, right into the wall for everyone to see. She pushed herself up slowly, groaning in pain with her teeth gritted. Her black aura flashed down and she went limp, sliding down the wall into a slumped sitting position.

Sapphire was frightened and she hesitated before pulling out her weapon and shooting Jay right in the face. He fell backwards from the force and clutched his face, yelling.

Birch wasted no time.

She rushed to Sapphire, pulled out a pair of silver fans, and began rapidly attacking Sapphire.

"Are those Grace's fans?!" Sapphire shouted, immediately recognizing the two weapons.

"Yes!" Birch shouted. She seemed confused, even as she was attacking.

Ransom and Mira exchanged glances and ran to help, pulling out their own weapons and attacking. Sapphire struggled to keep up with the three skilled people attacking her. She was good, but hand to hand combat with someone who was better at it than her, along with two others just as skilled as she, completely trumped her. She was already starting to lose.

Then Jay joined in, making the fight impossible. She felt herself getting hit and smashed in several places while she fought off about two people at a time, still receiving small bits of damage from them. Her aura and strength were failing, and the four Clannies were doing well.

"Help!" she cried, wondering where Crystal was.

Then, with a shout, the whole room glowed blue, and a dome covered the area. A glowing blue outline of each person in the room went from the person and melted into Sapphire, while a glowing blue outline of herself split into five, which melted into each Clannie.

A few bursts of aura, along with a decline of aura, made Sapphire's legs feel weak under her and her vision swim. She dropped to her hands and knees, the five in the room stepping back with some of their aura declined, and looked slowly up.

"I've never tried to do more than one person," Sapphire said weakly, "But swapping with Ebony wasn't wise."

Then she fell forward, her eyes closed.

Just at that moment, Crystal ran in with her sword arced above her head. She leaped over Sapphire, skidded to a halt, and then, with a burst of aura, smashed her sword into Birch and Mira, knocking them to the side. Then she began fighting every one of them in that room, glancing at Sapphire's unconscious body on the floor behind her.

"Too bad I can't kill you people!" Crystal shouted as her sword dented Birch's fans when they clashed, "Because I would have sliced that black haired lady in two!"

Birch just gritted her teeth and fought on. Her fighting style was much like Grace's, except for the fact that she wasn't quite as fast or flexible was Grace was.

And then, to make things even more hopeful for the non-Clannies, Scarlet rushed to the door, her eyes wide with fear.

"What's going on?!" she screamed, seeing Sapphire on the floor and the five strangers in the room.

"Help me out!" Crystal yelled as she was jerked off her feet and thrown roughly by Ransom, who's exposed arms were quite muscular. She smashed into the wall, her aura flashing purple. She grinned at the feeling and jumped out at him, her sword ready to hit him hard.

She fought on, Scarlet rushing away, and then managed to get Jay's aura down, smacking him with her sword and knocking him into the wall where he stayed.

Then she felt a heavy blow to her back that knocked her wind out and burst her forward into the corner. Her aura flashed up and she felt herself getting full.

Gotta let some out, she mentally noted.

Getting to her feet, she cracked her knuckles and took a deep breath.

Ransom rushed at her, his axe poised to get her hard.

Crystal dodged out of the way, just in time, grabbed his leg, yanked him to the side with a burst of aura, threw him up into the air with another burst, and then smacked him hard with her sword like a bat to a baseball, using more aura. He flew into Birch, knocking her over with his large, muscular body. He stood up and lunged again at Crystal, who prepared herself.

Mira, who had been knocked to the side from a swift attack from Crystal, held up her crossbow and aimed it at the already weakened ceiling, which had been hit and cracked by the people fighting, along with their weapons.

"L-look out, Ransom!" she called, her hand on the trigger.

Ransom looked at her, then to the ceiling above them, and then nodded, rushing away just as Mira shot at it.

The ceiling collapsed on top of Crystal and the room filled with dust, sending everyone in there into a coughing fit.

When the dust settled, all was quiet.

"I think we got her away," Birch panted, "Why was that girl so hard to defeat?"

"I dunno," Ransom said, brushing off his arms, "But Handsome Ransom wins again."

Mira giggled, standing up.

"Nice shot, Mira," Jay mumbled, sitting up slowly and wincing at the pain in his jaw.

"Yeah," she said. She was new to the Clan, and it felt good to be appreciated.

"Let's investigate this place and see those twins Onyx talked about," Jay said, standing up and glancing at Ebony, "And Ransom, grab Ebony."

Ransom rolled his eyes, but nodded, scooping up Ebony's beat-up body and then walking with the others through the door to the hallway.

They as quietly as they could, but took brisk, sly steps, all walking in decent sync.

"Start checking every room you come across," Mira whispered, her voice barely audible, "If you find one or both of them, take them out and meet out in the back of the house."

The group gave a brief nod and then broke off, separating and each checking each room thoroughly.

Mira first found the bathroom, immediately suspicious of the pattern on the tile floor. It reminded her of that one game she had grown up playing with her friends. Where you had to crack the code and get to the secret tunnel at the end of the puzzle. There had been a floor similar to that one, but certainly not exact. She carefully stepped out onto the red one, wincing and holding her breath.

Nothing happened.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Ransom and Jay were scanning over the kitchen and the living room, along with Birch scanning the dining room.

"I don't see anything," Birch said, frustrated, "But maybe Mira found the two Reds."

Only about a second after she had said this, there was a loud explosion-like sound, following a shriek from what sounded like Mira.

The group exchanged glances and hurried to the hallway, shocked to find a pile of rubble outside the door to the bathroom.

"Wrath?!" Birch shouted, nervous.

"I'm right-" Mira's voice began through a fit of coughing, "Here!"

The group hurried to the door, dodging as much dust and rubble as they could, and stepped into the room. Mira was on her hands and knees, coughing still, in a pile of rubble. The wall behind her was completely destroyed, leading outdoors. A small breeze of red petals blew in, sticking out amongst the dull color of the rubble like blood on a white shirt.

"What happened?!" Birch demanded.

"I don't know," Mira said, recovering and slowly getting to her feet, "There was a flash of red and suddenly, the wall exploded!"

Jay shook his head.

"It must be one of them!" he said, annoyed, "We need to prepare for them in case they-"

He was cut off as a sudden flame shot just pass him, lighting a curtain behind them ablaze. They jumped back, and then grabbed their weapons.

"Okay, guys," Ransom said, dropping Ebony carelessly onto the floor and grabbing his axe, "Stay on guard."

The four of them all went back to back in a circle, waiting.

Then she appeared.

Scarlet stood perched on the highest pile of rubble, her dress flapping in the breeze, a hard look in her bright red eyes.

"Get out," she said firmly.

"Sorry, missie," Ransom said, flipping his axe in his hand, "But we were ordered to take you."

Her head cocked to the side with recognition.

"Ransom Fox, is it not?" she said smoothly. Ransom raised a brow.

"And Jay Blue," Scarlet continue gesturing towards Jay, who gritted his teeth, "As well as Mira Wrath, Ebony Sable, and Greta Birch."

Birch spat in the rubble and shook her head, raising the two metal fans up.

"I wouldn't mess with me, if I were you," Scarlet said sincerely, "You know why."

Birch rolled her eyes.

"Look," she said, irritated, "I don't really believe a few things Onyx says he's done. And I especially don't believe in fairy tales being realities. So I'm not really afraid to try to bring you down."

Scarlet sighed.

"Don't be a fool-" she began, but quickly moved to the side as Birch leaped up at her, her fans slicing through the air. Scarlet closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

_Please don't make me kill someone._

"Please!" Scarlet yelled as her and Birch began fighting, close combat, "I don't want to hurt you! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"Yeah, sure," Birch said, slicing and blocking with her fans faster than Crystal could text, "So just come with us and tell us where your psycho brother is!'

"No!" Scarlet declared, jumping backwards to the door, "Never!"

Then she ran away.

"Follow her and get her at all costs!" Jay roared, pointing to the hallway. The group immediately ran after her, Ransom scooping up Ebony, chasing Scarlet until they were nearly over her heels.

Then she jumped, flipped, and landed on top of a small end table, one with a lamp. She grabbed it, pressed the other button with the B under it, and then threw it hard at the group, all in one swift motion.

The lamp flickered red and exploded, causing smoke to blow out all around them, blocking Scarlet from view and stinging their eyes with a loud boom.

"What the what?!" Ebony coughed, coming to.

Ransom jumped blindly forward, his sharp axe poised to hurt something badly.

If Rubrum hadn't jumped out from nowhere and made an icy wall in front of his sister, she would have been decapitated by the skillful swing of Ransom's axe. Instead of harming her, his axe imbedded itself into the wall of frosty ice that Rubrum had produced, getting very stuck.

He pulled his axe out with a jerk of its handle, shattering the ice and regaining possession over his weapon again.

"Rubrum!" Scarlet choked, for she had not been able to see Ransom either, "Just in time!"

Rubrum just stood firmly in front of her, facing the Clannies. The smoke cleared, revealing him as he stood with a solemn, determined look on his face.

At that moment, Sapphire and Crystal came running over. They were both beat up dazed, but both awake and behind the Clannies. They skidded to a halt and stared at the scene in front of them.

Rubrum slowly raised his hands, his eyes closing and a relaxed look on his face, and focused.

His palms began to glow pale blue and tiny ice-like crystalline sparkles began to swirl around where the light was, along with what looked like little snowflakes.

Then his eyes shot open, glowing bright blue, regardless of how red his eyes normally were, and he made a fist, pulling his arms toward himself.

Ever single Clannie in the room froze in place, encased in ice.

"Scarlet," he said strictly, his hands still fists and his eyes still blue.

Scarlet hesitated but then stepped forward, her palms glowing a soft orange-red. What looked like glowing embery ash began to come from the light in her palm, and then her eyes seemed to flair up, fiery light coming off of them like flames.

The frozen Clannies glowed red, the ice slowly melting. Scarlets's hands shook and her face showed fear, but she went on, and the frozen people all seemed to explode in fire.

Sapphire and Crystal held onto each other, bracing themselves for the blast that had just occurred.

Then the room, erupting into mist, became silent.

The mist cleared, showing Rubrum and Scarlet standing next to each other, Scarlets' eyes still flaring and Rubrum's eyes flickering red and blue as he slowly lowered his hand.

The five Clannies lay on the floor, Ebony looking like she was dead and the others looking very hurt and burned.

Sapphire hesitated, as she knew all but one of these people, but then stepped forward.

Scarlet's eyes returned to normal and her sighed, lowering her head. Rubrum's eyes remained red, but his face still held the same, calm, solemn look he always had.

"How-" Sapphire began, "How did...who...what happened?"

Scarlet stepped down from the table and walked slowly over to Crystal and Sapphire.

"You said you didn't believe in Maidens?" she asked quietly.

Sapphire and Scarlet locked eyes.

Crystal shattered the silence.

"Nah," she said, wincing at a small scratch on her shoulder, "Those things aren't real. That's all a bunch of balderdash."

"You saw it yourself," Scarlet said, gesturing to the Clannies on the floor.

Sapphire looked around and tried to comprehend this.

The fact that Maidens were real, and that she had been told that they were just some fairytale...It made her wonder about all sorts of things. And now she really felt like she needed to figure everything out for herself now.

"Which one?" Sapphire asked, still stunned.

Scarlet looked down and sighed.

"Summer," she answered softly.

"Scarlet," Rubrum said, his voice seeming a mix between calm and angry, "Those two need to go. Now."

Crystal and Sapphire exchanged glances.

Scarlet turned around and faced her brother.

"Could we at least help them and get them supplies for their journey to Beacon?"

"Oh, actually..," Sapphire began, hesitant, "I...I'm not going to Beacon anymore."

"What?!" Crystal shouted, unable to believe her ears, "Why not? What's wrong with you?"

Sapphire sighed and faced Crystal.

"I'm going to find out why they are here," she said, gesturing to the Clannies around them, "And then talk to my uncle."

"What?" Crystal said, her temper quickly rising, "You can't do that! We're not separating! We already lost Nathen and Mara. I can't be alone again!"

"It's not quite like that-" Sapphire began.

"At least let me come too?" Crystal cut in, her eyes glaring furiously at her.

"I'm sorry, Crystal!" Sapphire said, her voice becoming loud, "But this isn't something you can just do! Don't you see? I am one of them! I have full access and recognition there! You're a total stranger to them. Who knows what could happen if you went? I need you to stay put until I come back. Help with Beacon or something. I don't care. Just don't get yourself killed or something, okay?"

Crystal's angry red face melted into an exasperated, sorrowful face.

"Fine," she said, her voice suddenly quiet, "Go, then. Leave me all alone and do whatever it is you're gonna do. Treat me like a small and helpless child."

Sapphire hated it when she made Crystal like that, but decided to ignore it.

"Just stay here in Vale, okay?" she said softly.

"I'm gonna go home," Crystal answered bitterly, "You wanted me to, anyway."

Sapphire sighed and then nodded.

"Do you need anything?" Scarlet asked quietly, "Food? Clothes? Anything?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Just basic supplies, please," she said politely, "Thank you so much."

Scarlet nodded.

"Anything for a friend."

The two immediately teared up as the realization that they may not see each other for a long while again hit them. The wrapped each other in a tight hug and patted their backs.

"I'm really going to miss you!" Scarlet squeaked, tears spilling onto Sapphire's blue sleeve.

"I'm gonna miss you too," Sapphire whispered, closing her eyes and pulling slowly away.

Crystal, who was standing behind the two, looked slowly up, and then looked down.

_As if you aren't gonna miss me, too._

"Until next time," Scarlet said, wiping at her eyes.

"Until next time," Sapphire said with a nod.

She turned around and faced Crystal.

"Meet back in Vacuo, okay?" she said, setting her hand on her shoulder.

Crystal didn't look up.

"Whatever..," was all she said.


	10. Mara Again

Another twig snapped underneath her now calloused foot, causing her to stop and look down at it. It was a dry, dead twig that must have died long ago, judging by its old, dusty appearance.

Mara sighed and rubbed her tired amber eyes. It was nearly noon and she still hadn't eaten anything yet that day.

She had been trekking the forest for days, feeling like she had been smashed by a car and then rolled out like dough onto hot pavement, and then her aura had regenerated, healing some of her minor wounds and making her slightly more deep ones hurt a little less. Her dirtcaked skin was covered in numerous cuts, and she felt her aura was worn down. Her stomach rumbled for the millionth time that day.

"I'm working on it," she mumbled to herself as she walked along the trees and ditches.

The scenery hadn't been much different her whole trip so far, mostly consisting of trees, flowers, dead stuff, and moss, along with an occasional animal or Grimm. Fortunately, she still had her weapon, grateful that she had been holding it tightly when she had been thrown by the huge Grimm, and used it to defend herself from whatever attacked her. Unfortunately, she was still quite beat up, and fighting was harder for her than it normally was.

"Nathen..," she murmured to herself as she looked at the bright green color of the leaves and plants around her. It seemed that almost everything reminded her of him, her sorrow and longing for him taking on the form of remembrance. She had tried to swallow his death after about a week of grieving and healing, and now only thought of the good things. She wasn't exactly an optimist, but now she was becoming one, due to Nathen.

"I do miss you," she said softly, watching a bright yellow bird hop from one branch to another one with a nest. She was just looking for a village, city...Anything that she could get help at. She need to find her team. Well, at least her leader and other teammate.

Pulling out Nathen's now polished shoulder blade, she sighed and stared at it, her eyes shining with tears. During her travel, she would often look at it, and before she slept, she would prop it up and talk to it, imagining that it was Nathen. Then, after she was done, she'd usually end up in tears, putting it away.

She missed Crystal and Sapphire now. It had been about two months since the Fall of Beacon and she still hadn't found any good places to heal up. First she had found a shady town, but there were far too many sketchy people there that she just couldn't trust. Then she had found a small city, but she didn't have enough lien for the doctors there, so she had just bought a little food and continued on. Train tickets had been too much, so she had just gone on foot.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of a car driving past.

She snapped her attention to her left and saw the dark blur of a vehicle rush past...on a road! She hurried to the left, brushing away branches and vines, and then ran out into a wide, concrete road.

There were trees on both sides, and bright red car was already approaching her. Mara stepped to the side and eagerly waved her arm, though it ached to do so.

The car slowly pulled to a stop in front of her, and the glass window rolled slowly down, revealing a woman with fiery red hair and sunglasses. She was noisily chewing gum with her mouth open, a crazy rock song was playing on the radio, the car smelled a little like smoke, and a pair of golden earrings with rubies in the center hung from her ears.

"Can I help you, hun?" she asked in a voice that matched her appearance.

Mara, who didn't like the punk-type people, but was in desperate need of a ride, took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Excuse me, M'am, she began, trying to look friendly, "Could I trouble you for a ride to the closest town or gas station?"

The woman smiled, which made her gum chewing noises louder.

"I could get ya twenty miles for twenty lien," she said, still chewing.

Mara, who was socially awkward when it came to talking with strange alien people, tightened her hold on her clasped hands and fidgeted in place.

"Well, I-uh..." She tried to make her decision quickly, not wanting to hold the woman up, but didn't want to spend too much of her already-low lien supplies.

"But if that doesn't quite work for ya," the woman said quickly as soon as she saw Mara hesitate, "I could do it for ten."

Mara sighed and nodded, her brown bangs moving with her head.

"That would be very much appreciated, thank you," she said, her voice much quieter than normal.

The woman glanced out her windows for other cars, nodded to Mara, and then rolled up the window. Mara walked over to the other side of the car, slowly opened the shiny red car door and then sat down on the leather seat. In spite of the unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke, the car was actually somewhat pleasant. It was in good shape, clean, and looked new.

"Buckle up, hun," the woman said from the front seat as she pulled some sort of leaver, "We're gonna be going a little fast."

Mara nodded and quickly buckled her seatbelt, clicking it into a silver buckle. Then the woman began to drive the car forward, the engine roaring as it raced down the road. The woman began to hum and bob her head to the song that was playing, singing along during the main chorus and sometimes swerving the car to the beat.

Mara just sat still as stone and slowly opened her lien stash.

Thirty-five left.

She swallowed nervously and hoped that she could figure out what do do when that money ran out. She closed her bag and slipped it back under the seat.

"So where have you been, hun?" the woman asked, turning down the radio as a calmer rock song began to play, "You look terrible!"

Mara bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"Beacon," she answered quietly.

The woman nodded slowly as she took it in.

"Like, the school?" she asked, "During when all the Grimm were all crazy-like?"

Mara nodded, her head visible in the small mirror by the woman's head.

"Where're you going then?" the woman asked, concerned, "You've got parents, right?"

Mara nodded slowly.

"Well, yes, but I don't intend on just jumping in on my mom like that," she said softly. The woman raised her eyebrows and looked at the mirror where Mara was looking.

"C'mon, girl!" the woman said, looking behind her at Mara, and then back to the road, "You look like something the cat brought in!"

Mara made a weak laugh and sighed.

"It wasn't easy fighting all those Grimm," she said sadly.

"If course not!" the woman yelled, "_They are Grimm_! Grimm are always hard!"

Mara nodded again and looked down.

The red car sped past a gas station and then Mara realized that they were in a city.

"What's your name, girl?" the woman asked, obviously disgusted at Mara's current situation.

"I'm Mara," Mara answered.

"I'm Rosemary," the woman said, "Rosemary Cayenne. And don't laugh at the name, it was my mother's doing."

Rosemary laughed and hit the steering wheel with her hand, which was covered in golden rings and jewels. She suddenly gasped and quickly turned up the radio again, bringing back some more booming loud rock music.

"Oh, I love this one!" she shouted above the noise and began to sing along.

"Maybe it's the pool of bloooood!" she sang, her scratchy voice blending in surprisingly well with the song, "The innocents will lay in when in the end you failed to save them. Their dying eeeeeeyyyyyyes! Are wide and white like snow-"

Mara was highly disturbed by the lyrics of this song, but she just smiled friendlily when Rosemary glanced into her mirror.

And then Rosemary pulled into the parking lot of a gas station with a large building on either side. The building on the left had a sign that read: NATURAL FOODS GROCERY.

The right one read: WILLIAM EXPRESS. It was clearly a train station.

"Welcome to Anshin," Rosemary said as she shut off the engine and looked to the back seat where Mara was sitting, "Thought I'd drop ya off by a train station so ya could get yourself somewhere."

Mara smiled gratefully and stepped out of the car.

"Thank you so much," Mara said, pulling out ten lien, "I needed it a lot."

Rosemary rolled down the window and took the lien with a nod and and smiled with her bright red lips, which were covered in lipstick.

"You take care of yourself, now, hun," she said, waving and then rolling up her window.

Mara smiled and the waved back. She took a deep breath as the red car drove away and turned around to face the gas station.

MISCELLANEOUS GOODS AND GAS, the sign read.

Mara shrugged and walked into the convenience store, a tiny bell ringing. It was a neat little place, a small bar area in the corner with a mini refrigerator behind it and a counter with cups, a few small aisles of miscellaneous goods, a basket of candy for sale and a sliver bell were on a counter next to the bar one, and a bunch of random travelers merchandise on the walls. The whole place was empty, and a quiet song was playing on a low-quality speaker in the corner of the store.

Mara walked over to the food aisle, grabbed some simple trail mix with lots of nuts, a few apples, and a case of water bottles, and then walked back the the counter, setting her groceries on it. Then she rung the little silver bell.

"I'll be right there!" a woman's voice called from somewhere behind the fridge. Mara tapped her fingers patiently on the counter and waited for the woman to come.

Only a few seconds later, a young woman wearing a tight red tank top and skinny jeans came over holding an empty bag.

"Hello," she said, looking up with bored face, "Welcome to Miscellaneous Goods and Gas. How may I help you." Her voice wasn't exactly annoyed, but it almost sounded bored or jaded.

"Hi," Mara said, smiling, "Just got some of these groceries."

The woman nodded and began to check them out, putting them all in a bag as she did. She stole a few glances at Mara's dirty, tattered look as she worked, but said nothing. Then she pushed a full bag in front of Mara and clicked a few buttons on the register.

"That'll be twenty-four lien," she said, holding out her hand. Mara's eyes widened as she remembered that she only had twenty left.

But she hesitantly pulled out her twenty lien and gave it to the woman, who scanned it and gave it back to her.

"Thank you for shopping here," she said as if everything were perfectly normal, "Enjoy your purchase."

Mara took the bag, confused.

"Look, pal," the woman said, leaning on the counter, "I'm not gonna make you put everything back just because you're four lien short. Especially considering what you look like right now. Where were you? The Fall of Beacon or something?"

She was joking, but Mara didn't know.

"Yes, actually," Mara said, "I was at the Fall of Beacon. Fighting there, too. But I got separated from my team and now I'm hoping to find them sometime."

The woman raised her eyebrows and closed the cash register.

"Well, I hope you do," she said, "Have a nice day."

"Thank you. You too," Mara answered, walking out of the store.

It had been getting cloudy and now it was a little chilly, the smell of rain heavy in the air. It was dim and gloomy outside, and Mara hoped there was something she could do to get out of the rain in time.

"Where am I even going?" she asked herself aloud, shaking her head, "I need to go somewhere."

She sighed and looked around her, watching as cars drove past and people walked by. Where would she go?

"I could go find Mom..," Mara murmed, the thought seeming bitter to suggest. She stood there, her finger to her chin in thought. Her ripped clothes were showing more of her then she liked, so she held the bag up in an awkward position to cover most of her torso.

"Well it's not like she hates me..," Mara murmured as she continue to consider the possibility, "I just ran away. She knows she didn't do anything wrong. She won't be angry."

She groaned and lowered the bag, setting it next to her and pulling on her brown hair.

"Oh, of course she'll be angry!" Mara moaned, "She'll think she did something wrong and then, if I tell her that I became a huntress, she'll kill me!"

Mara shook her head and suddenly notice the attention she was gaining. She wasn't sure if it was her loud thoughts aloud or her outfit. Whichever it was, she didn't like it.

She smiled nervously, waved, and then quickly picked up her bag, looking away from every pair of eyes that were on her.

Then she decided. In a quick decision that was made because of her current position and her sudden yearning to see her mother, she moaned out loud.

"No I have to see her! I have to! She's probably worried sick! And also alone!"

She tightened her grip on her bag and hurried to the side of the road, which was busy with cars and trucks. She wildly waved her arms, her bag flipping and waving with her hands, and called out for a ride.

It only took about ten minutes before a large box truck slowed down and pulled over. The words, ROCKY ROAD, were spray painted on, along with a picture of a bowl of ice cream under it, making it look like graffiti.

The front window rolled down and a burly man with a big black beard leaned his head out. Some strange rap music could be heard in the back of the truck.

"What's up?" the man asked.

Mara hesitated, the smell of cigarette smoke much stronger than Rosemary's car.

"Could I get a free ride to Spring? The village on the other side of the Hazel Mountains?" she asked, gathering her trembling voice and trying to make it loud.

The man grinned and nodded his head.

"Sure," he said, wiping his nose on his mouth and clearing his throat, "Hop in the back."

Mara nodded and forced a smile.

"Thank you very much, sir," she said gratefully.

The man began to laugh.

"Actually, I go by 'Ma'am'," he said. Mara's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The man just laughed all the more harder, shaking his head.

"No way, missie," he laughed, "Now way! You ain't gotta trust nobody with a soft mind like yours! I am clearly a man, missie. Why would I hand down that masculine privilege for a weak girl body?"

He laughed even harder and a few men's voices were heard in the back laughing as well. Mara's cheeks grew hot and colored.

"Just get in the back, missie," the man with the beard said, smiling, "We were on our way through there, anyway."

Mara nodded and smiled again, walking to the back of the truck. The back slowly opened up, and five men, wearing headbands, tattoos, and tank tops and sitting in a circle, all smiled at her. It made Mara feel uncomfortable, especially when she found that their eyes were below her face. They glanced at each other, pointed at her, laughed and chuckled, and blew on their cigarettes, making smoke drift out towards her.

"What up?" one of the men asked smoothly, "Ladder over dere."

He pointed to a small white ladder that was slowly extending down towards Mara. One of the men were controlling it.

Mara took a deep breath and slowly stepped over to it. But just as her bare foot was about to touch the ladder's first bar, the ladder suddenly shot up, folding back into the side of the box truck. The men all began to laugh, one of them patting the man who was controlling it's back.

Mara looked up, alarmed, and saw the back of the truck slowly closing.

Then the truck zoomed away, half closed and still showing the five men inside, laughing, smoking, and waving at her as a tease. One of them shouted out a curse word, the others echoing it and laughing.

Mara's eyes filled with tears and her lip trembled. But she shook her head, gripped her bag, and held her head up, walking to the side of the road once more.

She waved her arms again, hoping that a much friendlier person would appear to help her out, but nothing happened for a while.

After about an hour, a loud boom of thunder rumbled in the sky, following a flash of lightning. Not long after, it began to pour. Cold, wet rain pelted Mara, soaking her clothes, hair, and skin through. But still she stood there, shivering, wet, and lonely.

The cars and trucks all just drove past, ignoring her as if she were not there at all. Even a few hurried pedestrians rushed past, one bumping into her and then running off like nothing had happened. And then, after about an hour of rainfall, a large puddle had formed in front of her, and a fast car raced past, splashing her and covering her with water from head to toe.

Mara didn't feel angry, however. She just stood there, hoping someone would stop and help her. It wasn't like that person had purposely done that.

She glanced around, wiping away the tears that had mingled with the rain on her face, and moved her wet hair out of the way of her vision.

The rain was pouring like crazy, making it hard to see much. Mara decided finally that she would just go back into the convenience store. It was warm and dry there, and the woman at the counter had been nice enough. Nobody could see her anymore, anyway.

Mara slowly turned around, still holding her soaked bag, and staggered towards where the outline of the store could be seen. But when she had only gone a few steps, she tripped on something and fell right into a large puddle, splashing water all over the place. She slowly rose to her hands and knees, trying to forget about it.

The cold water reached up to her thigh. She tried to stand, but then, as the coldness of the rain pelting on her and the puddle she was sitting in soaked deep into her, she decided to stay in her position.

The rain and thunder began to make her feel suddenly sad, and then, after looking up and seeing that it was even harder to see in front of her, she broke down and began to weep. She shook as she sobed, and a torrent of hot tears poured down her face, mingling with the rain and running down her face, dripping into the puddle.

Her thought began to go back to Nathen, and then to their times at Beacon. Her friends...her family, everyone she missed so dearly...They all made the lonely image of love in her mind and caused her to cry even harder.

She felt hopeless, hurt, helpless, and empty.

Looking up one more time, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself.

* * *

**Poor Mara...Okay, so I noticed that the fact that Mara is planing on going back to her mother after the Fall of Beacon, along with the fact that she's a Faunus, really makes it look kinda like I was copying Blake. Her being a Faunus and the fact that she went back to her parents after the Fall of Beacon.**

**I did watch RWBY in a wrong order, though. It was like, 2, then 5, then 4, then 3, then 1...Yeah, it's weird. I'm not sure if I had made up Mara's storyline before Blake's volume 4 storyline, but just know I don't like Blake very much anymore, and I don't wanna copy her storyline. I'm not copying it, so if it looks like it, I apologize. **


	11. The Boy With the Hood

Crystal stomped towards the station, the chilly wind blowing hard at her face. It blew her light aqua hair all over the place, making it a little hard to see. But Crystal didn't care. She was upset. Upset that Sapphire had left her by herself just to find out a bunch of random stuff about their uncle. Upset that she couldn't join Sapphire. Upset that she was now completely separated by her team, not to mention that she was the leader. She was suppose to keep her team together, right?

Crystal sighed and looked down and kicked a pebble close by, sending it flying into the station's deck with a ping.

"Oh, yeah, Sapphy," Crystal said out loud, sarcasm dripping off her words, "I'll just go home back to my drunk stepfather!"

She shook her head with gritted teeth and stepped up onto the plank platform.

She had gone to Seul, a town just outside of Forever Fall, which wasn't far from where Scarlet and Rubrum's house was, while Sapphire hurried to a ship dock in the opposite side of Forever Fall that could take her directly to the Hazel Mountains.

The train station was empty, as well as the town around it, some light showing inside some of the windows, revealing a few silhouettes of people. It was windy and dark, thick gray clouds covering the sky and blotting out the sun, making everything dim and gloomy. The air smelled strongly of rain and it was chilly out.

Crystal wrapped her arms around her body and looked around the station. One of those machines you buy tickets in with lien was standing in the corner next to an old bench with chipped paint.

Crystal walked over to it, unwrapped her arms from her body, and pressed the screen.

It was a long-way train station. It could take you to places pretty far way.

Fortunately, Vacuo was not across a body of water, and could be driven to, if desired.

Crystal looked over the short list of places the train would take her. Each places was categorized by length and time.

Forever Fall

Beacon

Vale

Vert

Vacuo

Owari

Crystal sighed and pressed the button that labeled Vacuo. She hadn't been home in a little more than a year, and she missed her sisters quite a bit. Jewels had graduated a year before Crystal had left for Beacon. Jade must have graduated by now, then.

130 lien.

"Money and glum and stupidity and cousins and hate and rain..," she mumbled darkly as she pulled out her lien card and held it up to the scanner. It scanned the card, loaded, and then went back to the menu screen. A small paper ticket appeared from a slit on the side of the machine.

Crystal grabbed it, glanced at it, and then slid it into her pocket.

She tapped her foot impatiently on the deck and waited, not thinking about anything much.

"Why, Sapphy?" Crystal sighed, lowering her head and thinking back to her team, "Why do you always have to rush off with things without me? Even when we were younger you would hurry off with the older ones and leave me behind."

She shook her head and hugged herself again.

"It's just like Dad," she whispered, "He just left us. Not even intentionally, but it happened. And now I've got this drunkard of a man for a father!"

She yelled the last part of her sentence and kicked another rock that was sitting by her boot. She balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes.

"You don't have to be so angry over the tiniest things," her father, Jasper, had said to her one day, "Life is full of tiny, annoying things that constantly bug and jab at us. But you need to brush them off like they don't matter, because they don't! They're just small! It's okay to get upset over big things, but exploding over them won't help one bit. You've got to explode on them. Destroy them and squash them like bugs, even if they seem bigger than Remnant. You're a future huntress, Crystal. Act like you're already one and conquer those things like Grimm."

A tear ran down her face as she recalled the soft, kind words of her birth father. She quickly wiped them away.

"I miss you, Dad," she sniffed, her easily shifted feelings turning to sadness, "I love you."

A clap of thunder boomed in the air, accompanied by a slow trickle of rain. The rain slowly got harder until it was raining decently hard, bringing up small puddles and turning the dirt ground to mud. The chilliness of the air was disguised by the cool rain that pelted the roof and dripped all around Crystal, as she was sheltered by the roof of the station.

"You lost your father too?" a soft voice asked. It was a boy, a teenage boy who was standing behind Crystal. Crystal jumped, startled by the sudden voice, and spun around to see a boy wearing a cloak with a hood and some ripped jeans. The hood covered most of his face, so Crystal couldn't make out his facial features.

"Yes," Crystal said quietly. The boy nodded, his wet bangs long enough to reach just past his eyes when soaked with water.

"I lost my father when I was small," he said, taking a step closer, "And my mother followed soon after."

Crystal nodded.

"I have a mother, but in a way, I lost her, too," she said sadly, shoving her hands into her pocket, "She didn't die or anything. She just kept leaving for work and barely saw us anymore."

The boy nodded, walking over to Crystal's side.

"Sometimes there are people like us," he said, looking up at the back of the station's sign, which was dripping with rain, "Who lose people they love and are forced to go on in life, leaving them behind. Of course, they aren't forgotten, but it does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Crystal said, looking up at the sign as well, "It does."

"And then, we meet other people like us," the boy continued, "They understand how we feel and we can be ourselves around each other without crossing each other's lines or intruding on them because we're one of them."

"Yeah," Crystal murmured.

The two stood there, side by side, staring at the rain-dripping sign. The sounds of the rain falling around them and the cold wind made Crystal shiver. It was nearing the end of fall, and winter would soon follow.

"Are you cold?" the boy asked, turning to look at Crystal. At the angle, Crystal could just make out one of his eyes. It was a dreary hazel.

Crystal shook her head.

"No," she said quietly.

The boy smiled softly and looked away.

"My name is Logan," he said.

"I'm Crystal," she said, looking to the side of the train track, which was still empty.  
"Where are you going?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Back home," Crystal said, still watching the track, "In Vacuo."

Logan nodded.

"I'm also planning to head back to my village," he said, "It's in Atlas. The cold, strict continent where many, many people seem to be disciplined to ice."

Crystal looked back at the back of the sign, watching each and every glistening drop fall.

"I've never been to Atlas," she said, "It's always been that 'far off place' in Remnant, you know? It's separated by a body of water, after all. I've pretty much only been in two kingdoms; Vale and Vacuo. I did go to Patch once, but that was only for a little while."

Logan nodded.

"I've been all over the map," he said, also looking at the sign now, "Just not Menagerie. It's an island only populated by Faunus."

"Why not?" Crystal asked, glancing at him, "Were you afraid they'd tear you apart because you're a human?"

Logan closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, I'm a Faunus," he said, looking back up and opening his eyes, "I just hide it."

Crystal looked hard at him.

"What features do you have?" she asked.

"I-" he hesitated and shook his head. "I'm not a normal Faunus."

Crystal raised a brow.

"I'm-I'm...I'm a Grimm Faunus," he said, closing his eyes and looking away.

"Um..," Crystal began, confused, "How does that work?"

"I don't know," Logan answered, still looking away, "I just am. My father was a bat Faunus and my mother was a Grimm faunus. According to them, it's just been a family trait. Nobody knows when or how it started. It's always just been that way."

"The next train will be leaving in ten minutes," a mechanical female voice said on a small, low-quality speaker in the corner of the station.

"So..," Crystal said slowly, "What do you look like, then?"

Logan looked slowly back at her and sighed.

"You're sure you want to see me?" he asked.

Crystal nodded.

"I won't run," she promised.

Logan nodded.

"Very well," he said, slowly reaching up to his hood. He slowly pulled it down, revealing his whole face.

The whole left side of his face was snowy white with red markings on the far side of his cheek. His left eye was bright yellow, what would be the whites of his eye, black, surrounded in red. His black bangs were wet, and fell down around his eyes in sleek black locks. The right side of his face, however, was perfectly normal; fair skin, hazel eye, and tiny, almost invisible freckles. He looked to be about 19 to 21 years old, and his face looked innocent and handsome.

"Oh, wow," Crystal uttered, not at all frightened. It more mystified her then scared her.

Logan sighed and looked down.

"I attract Grimm sometimes," he said quietly, "And I can talk to them."

"Does that also mean you don't have any aura?" Crystal asked curiously.

Logan chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I still have aura," he said, "But where I go, if there are Grimm close by, they may sense me as one of their own. So that could keep me safe, or it could put me or others in danger."

"Neat," Crystal said, nodding.

"The next train will be leaving in 5 minutes," the mechanical female voice announced.

Logan looked down.

"My name means literally means hollow," he said, his voice low, "Grimm are considered hollow creatures. Sometimes I wonder if my mother named me that on purpose."

"What was her name?" Crystal asked.

"Khina," he answered, "Also meaning hollow."

A loud, harsh sounding whistle sounded and the two snapped their attention back to the train tracks. A large black train was steaming its way towards the station, puffs of steam billowing out from it. It looked a little old and very worn as it slowed to a stop, screeching loudly on the tracks.

Crystal and Logan watched as the door slid open and nobody got off. The train was empty.

The train whistled loudly, as if it were demanding the next passengers to get on it right away.  
"The next train has arrived," the mechanical female voice announced, "Please board the current train and give your ticket to the conductor."

Crystal looked at Logan, who smiled lightly. She found him to be quite nice.

"Are you coming on this train?" she asked, hoping he was. She didn't want to ride on this sketchy train alone. She hated being alone.

Logan shook his head slowly.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "But I'm going to Atlas, overseas. This one's going to Vacuo, correct?"

"Um..," Crystal began, when a skinny man with tired eyes walked out from the train and looked at the two standing on the deck.

"Where're you headed?" he asked hoarsely.

"I'm headed to Vacuo," Crystal said, "Is that where this train is going?"

The man shrugged.

"Sure," he said, "Since you have a ticket there."

Crystal felt a disappointment come over her and droop her. She walked to the man and stood in front of him.

"Allright," she said, digging the ticket out of her pocket and handing it to the skinny man. He took it, looked over it, and then gestured for her to enter the train.

Crystal started walking into the train, but looked quickly behind her, feeling like he might have randomly disappeared or something. But he was still there, his hood back up and a slight smile on his face, just barely visible from the shadows of his hood.

"Bye, Logan," Crystal said, waving lightly at him.

"Farewell, Crystal," he said back, also waving. Then the skinny man glanced around for anyone else, walked back into the train, and then closed the door, locking Logan out of sight.

Crystal glanced around the traincar, glad to see that it looked nice and cozy. It was made of polished wood, carpet, and benches, with warm yellow lights on the sides with a few pictures and glass windows.

"Please have a seat," the skinny man said as he walked through a door that lead to another car.

Crystal hurried to one of the windows and pressed her face to the glass. Logan stood there, under the roof of the station, with rain pouring all around him.

"Goodbye..," Crystal murmured, wishing she could have talked longer.


	12. Forcing Progress

"I saved you a seat," Nathen said, holding out his hand. Mara blushed and took his hand, stepping down the stairs to his row. Nathen smiled and assisted her through the crowded row and sat her down in one of the few empty red seats left in the audience. The big black screen in front of them flickered white and a small message was on it.

PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR SCROLLS AND REMAIN QUIET DURING THIS SHOWING

Mara grinned and scooted closer to Nathen.

"What movie is this again?" she whispered as the screen went dark and an image began to show.

"Gray Skies," Nathen whispered back, the image a young woman holding hands with a young man, walking on a sidewalk and smiling.

"I thought that was at a different time," Mara whispered, confused.

Nathen thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Then I think this one is 'Unshed Tears; Unheard Pleas'," he said.

Mara nodded.

"Sounds sad," she murmured. Nathen smiled and glanced at her as she stared at the screen with wide amber eyes. He looked back to the screen and slowly reached his hand out to hers. It touched Mara's, making her tense, but then relax. Her hand wrapped around his and they held hands as the movie went on.

"Mara," he said softly, stilling watching the movie.

"Yes?" Mara asked as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt so safe with him. So warm, so nice.

"Mara," he said again, but this time, his familiar, warm voice was a little higher and something seemed off. Mara looked at Nathen confused. He turned his head and smiled at her; that one smiled that always made her heart skip and her chest fill with a warmth.

The theater lights were turning back on, the air around then becoming cooler. Then Mara suddenly felt cold, and she looked back at Nathen, only to see that he was fading away into light. "Wait!" she cried, reaching out for him. But he was gone. The whole theater was gone.

"Where-" Mara looked up to see the same cashier register lady standing above her, a brow raised.

"You okay?" she asked, a hand on her hip.

Mara looked around and found that she was damp, cold, and in the convenience store again, laying in the corner on a pile of blankets. Nathen was gone. Forever.

Why, Dreams? Why do you torment me like that?

"Uh-" Mara began, embarrassed, "Yes. I'm fine."

The cashier lady shrugged.

"Found you in a puddle yesterday," she said, glancing out the window, "I couldn't tell it you were awake or asleep. Whatever it was, I brought you in here. Saw you waiting out here for a while until the storm hit."

"Oh, thank you very much," Mara said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "I don't know what came over me."

The cashier nodded.

"You look pretty beat up," she said, "You want some help? I could drive you to-"

"Oh, if you could find a way to get me to Spring, that would be wonderful!" Mara blurted, cutting the woman off. The woman paused, her finger up, and then nodded with a sigh.

"That city by the Hazel Mountains?" she asked. Mara nodded vigorously.

"Yes," she said eagerly, "My mother lives there. I need to get to her desperately."

The woman just looked at her for a while and then sighed.

"I'll see what I can do," she said, turning around and walking towards her counter.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Mara said, smiling gratefully. The woman nodded as she went behind the counter.

"I'm Mara," Mara said, standing slowly up.

"Robin," the cashier said, flipping through some papers, "Nice wings."

Mara smiled. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"Okay," Robin said, walking over, "I don't get a ton of business in here, but I do get enough. So I could give you enough for a ticket there."

Mara's eyes widened.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to make you pay a bunch of lien just for a stranger-" she began, but was cut off by Robin.

"Shush," she said, holding up a finger, "Don't even start. I'm going to help you."

Mara nodded. Her eagerness to get to her mother and set things in a straighter path was making her ignorant of the things that she was most often conscious about.

"I could get you..," Robin began, flipping through a stack of lien from her register, "150 lien. Should cover a ship ticket to that place and a few other expenses."

Mara took the money with wide eyes.

"Thanks for defending our school," Robin said, a solemn look on her face.

"Our school?" Mara murmured, confused.

Robin just nodded and turned around.

"Have a good trip, Mara," she said, her voice grave.

"Were you a huntress?" Mara asked her, wondering if she was.

"Yep," Robin answered flatly, "I graduated last year. Heard that the good old Professor Ozpin died. Rest in peace."

Mara, held her hand to her mouth and gasped. Ozpin died? It was hard for her to imagine to wise professor no longer existent.

"Rest in peace," she murmured back.

"Oh, and if you need to cheat," Robin added, her back still turned as she began to stock a shelf behind the counter with cans, "Don't hesitate to. It could save you a lot of headache."

Mara fidgeted in her place. She did not like to cheat, nor did she like to use life hacks. She liked to live humbly and honestly.

I need to get to Mother and forget everything I'm still clinging to from the past. Even if it means breaking a few words I promised myself.

Mara nodded slowly.

"Now go and get where you need to," Robin said, glancing over her shoulder one last time at Mara. Mara nodded to her, smiled her thanks, and then slowly left the store.

"Don't forget your bag!" Robin called as the door was closing behind her. Mara quickly ran back inside, embarrassed.

Robin held up Mara's plastic bag of groceries. Mara walked slowly over, took the bag and then nodded with a quick smile.

"Thank you, sorry," she said, turning around and exiting the store.

There were large, semi muddy puddles here and there, a large majority of them a couple inches deep. Some of them, the ones near or on grass, were decently clear, while the others were either dirty brown or murky. The dirt and gravel ground had transformed to mud. The air was washed with the scent of fresh rain and birds were chirping cheerfully all around, the sun shining brightly in the near cloudless sky.

"It's pretty nice out today," Mara murmured as she walked to the side of the road, dodging puddles and thicker spots of mud. A light breeze came by, gently blowing the two locks of hair that always hung from both sides of her face. She looked out at the still-busy street, full of cars and trucks, and took a deep breath.

It was a new day, and she was going to get to her mother by tonight.

Mara stood patiently by the road, holding her bag with one hand and holding out her thumb with her other, waiting for someone to stop.

But just as the day before, nobody much stopped. The only people who did, however, demanded pay for service. Mara knew that ship tickets were pricey, so she didn't agree to travel with them.

It was about halfway to noon when a familiar vehicle slowly pulled to the side by Mara. As the truck's shadow cast over Mara, her eyes narrowed and her chin went up stubbornly.

The Rocky Road truck was back, and the window rolled down, revealing the same man as before, grinning. His teeth were dirty and unbrushed, yellowish gunk building up near his gums.

"Hey there, missie," he greeted hoarsely, "Still here?"

Mara stepped forward, her face set in a grim, unhappy look.

"Why did you drive off like that?" she demanded.

The man laughed, the men in the back joining in.

"I love makin' jokes," he said, his hand on the steering wheel, "And you seem so gullible!"

Mara's face remained serious.

"May I please have a ride," she asked, though her question sounded more like a command.

The man laughed again.

"Sure!" he said, his smile wide and gross, "We'd love to have you!"

He and the men in the back started to hoot and laugh like crazy as Mara walked firmly to the back of the truck, which began to open up again. As the ladder came down and the same smoking people in the back showed up again, Mara held tightly onto her bag, wrinkling her nose at the strong smell of smoke. The five men all chuckled and the one controlling the lever gestured for her to come on up.

Mara stepped towards the ladder, ready to do what she needed to do. As soon as she had walked up the first bar, the man quickly reeled it back in, expecting Mara to fall of onto the ground.

But Mara did not. Just as she saw the man beginning to reel it in, she took a deep breath and turned invisible, jumping at the inside of the truck with a beat of her wings.

The men didn't see her, but were instead confused as Mara seemed to disappear in front of their very eyes. They all began to look at each other with confused looks and muttered some small swears to one another.

Mara landed soundlessly on the floor behind the men, having jumped through a large space between the first man and the wall and stayed there in a crouched position. Her plastic bag was in one hand and her gun was in the other. Her heart beat in her chest as the men turned shrugged and completely rolled up the back of the truck, closing them and her in.

"She fall for it again?" the driver shouted back, obviously smiling. The men, confused but shaking it off, called back.  
"Uh-yeah. She really is gullible!"

They laughed and the driver, after swearing randomly, continued, the truck on at a fast pace. A few horns honked as the truck sped past a few cars that were actually following the rules of the road.

The men in front of Mara continued, to drink their beer, smoke their cigarettes, and laugh, playing with some cards and looking at each other's scrolls. Mara slowly crawled to a large crate nearby, crouching behind it and peaking out from the top.

I know how to drive. If I just take these people out and take the wheel, I should get to a ship dock in no time.

Then Mara realized that she had no idea where a ship dock was. She could spend forever driving around looking for one.

The driver probably knows.

Mara slowly stood up, her fists balled, and took a deep breath. She stopped using her semblance and she became visible again, still unseen by the guys.

She held up her gun, pointed it behind her, and then, slowly setting her bag down, shot her gun, propelling herself forward at the five men. She kicked the middle guy with her feet as she sped at them, making him lurch forward, spitting out his beer. She landed on top of his back, pointing her gun at the four others and began shooting wildly at them.

The men, three of them seeming unable to fight, all freaked out, some of them reaching for their pistols and others falling as their auras flashed down shortly after Mara began shooting. Two of them managed to dodge most of the shots aimed at them, flip, grab their guns, and begin shooting at Mara, who stopped shooting and began dodging the bullets now aimed at her. She shot herself forward, turned her gun to daggers while she was darting at one of the two, and began slicing wildly at him. He dodged her strikes with surprising skill and shot at her between dodges.

Mara dodged his easily, as he was clearly not a huntsmen of any sorts, but rather some savage trained in some level of combat, and constantly turned her weapon to daggers, and then do her hand gun, over and over when necessary. She was gaining the upper hand, and was soon shooting him, slicing him, and punching and kicking him until he fell to the ground, his aura flashing down.

Unfortunately, the other one of the two, and managed to grab Mara by her wings and yank her to him, punching the back of her head and kicking her feet out from under her.

Mara landed in a back handspring, landing back on her feet and beginning a similar attack as she had been doing to the other man.

This one was equally skilled as the other one, and the fight ended similarly.

Mara ran to the back of the back of the truck, leaving behind the five unconscious men laying there in a pile. She looked through the grate that separated the back of the truck from the driver's area and saw the driver, bobbing his head to some loud music. He grabbed a pack of chew and stuffed it into his mouth, some bright yellow juice spilling out onto his beard as he chewed with his mouth open.

Mara frowned and stepped back, aiming her gun at the corner of the grate. In a few swift movements, she shot all four corners of the grate, shot herself forward, and then kicked down the grate, hitting the driver in the back of his head.

"Ow!" the man with the stained beard shouted, a curse following as he rubbed his head, "What the-"

Mara jumped out from behind him, the truck swerving as the man steered around, surprised at Mara's sudden appearance. Mara leaped onto his lap, slammed on the brakes, and pulled to the side of the road, jerking them both to the side.

Then she turned around, decked the guy in the face, and ended up in a choking position, her elbow around his neck and his hands clawing at her arm.

"Take me to the nearest ship dock," she ordered, wishing his finger fails weren't so sharp, "And don't even think about disobeying! I've got all your guys out back on the floor."

Even Mara was surprised at the harshness of her voice. But she shook it off and held him tighter. Her grip was somewhat weak compared to his, and she was starting to lose her hold on him.

The man clawed her arm down and took in a deep breath, panting.

"What the-" he began, but Mara punched him again, mentally grimacing as her fist seemed to break his nose. Her aura was low, and his most likely was not.

He grabbed her hair and yanked her down, slamming her to the bottom of his truck. Mara sat up, quickly ducking a punch from him, and grabbed at his shirt. She pulled him forward, punched him again, and then put her thumbs on his eyes, almost about to gouge them out.

"I don't need to gouge your eyes out," she hissed, the man not daring to move.

"No, you don't," the man grunted.

"Take me there and I'll leave you," she said firmly.

The man seemed to know better, and nodded his head stubbornly. He clearly didn't like being overthrown like this, but he didn't want to be blind, either.

"Fine," he grumbled, sitting up straights as Mara let go of him and warily sat in the passenger seat. He shot her a mean glare and started to drive forward, getting back in the left lane of the road.

They drove forward, neither Mara nor the driver saying a word. Mara glanced at some of the places they passed, and then the signs.

The nearest ship dock was in six miles.

Mara sighed and felt relieved. Then she remembered her bag.

She stood up and climbed into the back, the driver only glancing at her and continuing to drive. Then she returned with her plastic bag, which had the convenience store's logo on it, and sat back down in her seat.

"Who taught you to fight?" the driver suddenly asked, making Mara jump. She frowned and glared at him, but then her face softened when she saw his face wasn't so vulgar anymore.

"I was a student in Beacon Academy," she answered.

The driver nodded and was silent. He seemed to know what that was.

"You didn't kill-" he began, surprising Mara by this question.

"No-" she cut in, startled, "I didn't kill any of them. Huntresses don't just kill people, you know."

The driver stared through the windshield and continued driving.

Mara sighed quietly and looked out her window. She had killed someone before. More than one person. And so heartlessly too, without hesitation or guilt. The memories of Fuih Fuirfh flooded back into her mind; the girl with the metal fans; the tall boy named Trent.

It felt so wrong to her now that she suddenly almost felt like a monster.

She lifted her head a little higher and firmly set her jaw. She wouldn't care about that anymore. Well, at least not right now. She needed to get somewhere.

The truck suddenly slowed to a stop at the side of the road, causing Mara to look up and glance around at her surroundings.

A large building with large garage-like parts was to their left, several ships visible. A few were in the air, two leaving, one landing. The others in sight were on the ground, in the garages, and seen in small parts around the corner.

"Get out," the driver ordered flatly, not even bothering to look at her, "Now."

Mara sighed, nodded, and then, taking her bag, opened up the door to the truck and slid off her seat, landing onto the road. She closed the door and quickly jumped away as the truck drove off immediately after she did so.

Her jaw was clenched with anger, but relaxed as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was at the ship dock now. That was all that mattered right now.

She quickly stepped off the road as a car honked its horn past her, and stepped onto the grass. It was much nicer out now, seeming to be around mid afternoon.

Her stomach rumbled fiercely. She hadn't eaten all day, nor had she eaten much at all yesterday. Hunger was becoming painful now, and much harder to bear.

Mara fished into her bag and pulled out the bag of trail mix. She ripped it open with her teeth and dug her hand inside, grabbing a handful of salted nuts, pretzels, and bagel chips. Then she stuffed it into her mouth, munching noisily on it as she started towards the ship dock building.

She fingered the lien that Robin had given her in her bag and hoped that it would be enough.

"Should cover a ship ticket to that place and a few other expenses," Robin's voice echoed in her mind.

Mara nodded to herself and walked a little faster towards her destination. She would get to Spring by tonight, even if it was midnight. She would just have to hope that her mother would allow her into her home. And if she moved to some other city…  
"Why didn't I think of that?!" Mara groaned out loud, frustration ebbing away at whatever patience and sweetness she had left in her, "It's been nearly eleven years! She could have moved somewhere else! The chances of her moving aren't that slim at all!"

"Keep moving forward..," Nathen's words seemed to whisper themselves into her ear.

Mara closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Why did it have to come to this?" she choked, stopping in her tracks and looking up at the bright blue sky. Tear had already begun to fill her eyes as the memory of her and Nathen in the rose garden at Beacon showed itself in her mind. His face flashed in her head and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm just glad you could at least tell me that you loved me first," she squeaked, her voice shaking with emotion. She hugged her arms around her body and stood there for a minute, remembering Nathen and silently weeping. Then, with a loud sound of a ship leaving, she looked up and stared at it through teary eyes, watching it slowly ascend and disappear.

She wiped her eyes and shook her head, clutching her bag tightly, and began walking towards the building again.

* * *

**Alright, so this is the last chapter that I have actually finished writing of CMSN. All until now, I've been copying and pasting each chapter on here, once a day, and posting them. I've hit a bit of a writer's block here, though, so chapter 14 remains incomplete. So now the "Once a day" schedule for this fanfic is no longer in action.**

**CMSN is still ongoing, but I have other stories that I am currently writing, 2 of them, not even fanfics and not on this website. (Like, books I'm considering publishing once they're done; books of my own worlds and storylines,)**

**Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading!**


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